Holly Golightly
by GrittyRe-boot
Summary: AU: All he wants is to be left alone, and his annoying new neighbor just won't respect that, he hates her always coming by, talking his ear off in the laundry room, nearly getting herself killed, making him care, making him love her, he hates it all.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Get ready for more tortured Finn here, I'm beginning to think I'm a bit of a sucker for messed up Finn, but don't worry, this fic won't be quite as angstarific as Save Me or Finn, Interrupted, I'm not a total sadist, however I'm still not in a fluffy kind of mood quite yet, if I tried to write a humor story right now it would probably just seem forced, that and I just haven't gotten any ideas for one. I'm thinking I'm not going to write a lot of canon stories anymore either, with the exception of the occasional futurefic, and I'll try to one day write a futurefic for Finchel in which they aren't dealing with some sort of horrible tragedy. BTW, the last chapter of Finn, Interrupted should be posted either tomorrow or the next day. Until then, enjoy the new story.**

He peers out his window at the moving van parked outside. It's small, too small for a couple or a family. It's just as well, the tower isn't the family friendliest of complexes, nor is this part of Brooklyn the family friendliest of neighborhoods. The noise and the dirt, the chaos, the bums pissing in the streets and drug dealers beating on doors at all hours, the lesbians next door having loud sex in the middle of the day, it all makes it a last resort kind of place, an unfriendly place for the kind of girl stepping out of that van, with her big, bright eyes and a potted fern in her hands. He knows her type, just by looking, she came to New York to do great things, a dreamer. She probably thinks there's something romantic about this place, like it's the kind of place where every struggling great ought to have lived along their journey. He feels bad for her already. He shuts the blinds and scratches at his beard absentmindedly as he limps across the tiny living room.

He sinks onto his couch and shuts on his television. There's never anything good on this time of day, but he likes the noise, it drowns out the sound of the traffic. He usually plays music, The Stones or The Beatles, or when he's in a very particular kind of mood he'll break out some Zeppelin, but his record player is broken again and he just doesn't have it in him to fix it yet another time. He's a whiz at fixing things, musical things especially, so the fact that it won't stay fixed for very long is a pretty good indication that it's time to let go, and he'd rather just leave it be than admit that it's beyond saving. He settles on _Coming To America_ on HBO. It's a good movie, it makes him laugh if only on the inside, and he likes the idea of a wealthy prince going undercover as a common man in the city. He wonders silently if that kind of thing has ever happened here, he wonders if the girl in the moving van is really a princess, she's pretty enough to be a princess.

He must have fallen asleep at some point during the movie, probably around the point when prince Akeem and his reluctant manservant go bar hopping, a different movie is playing now, something with Julia Roberts, he must have slept for a long time. The sound of the doorbell is what snaps him awake, it never rings when he's not expecting it. The only time anyone ever knocks is when they've brought something for him to fix, even the drug dealers have given up on him. He doesn't remember having any more appointments today, he decides he's not going to answer it, he doesn't do well with company, but the doorbell rings again and he can hear an unfamiliar voice asking if he's there. He lets out a low sigh and gets up from the couch, limping to the door. He looks through the peephole first, not wanting to make his presence immediately known. It's her, the new resident, and she's holding some sort of dish and fluffing her thick brown hair. He wouldn't usually open the door unless it was business, but she has a dish, and there's barely any food in the apartment, plus she's pretty, and although pretty girls haven't had much of an effect on him in awhile, he doubts he'd be as quick to open up the door if she looked like Dave from down the hall. He leaves the security chain on and meets her gaze through the crack in the door, and she completely lights up as he does, which certainly isn't the way people usually look at him these days.

"Hi," she says brightly. "I'm Rachel Berry, I just moved in next door."

He simply nods and forces a smile that probably looks more like a grimace.

"Anyway, I thought that I would say hello by bringing you some of my famous banana bread. I've been told it changes lives," she continues.

He remains silent as he shuts the door long enough to remove the security chain and opens it wide enough to accept the banana bread, even cold it smells good. He shoots her another grimace/smile in gratitude and she smiles back, showing her blinding white teeth.

"So, you're musician?" she says, looking past him at the assortment of instruments in the corner, three guitars, a bass, a drum kit, a sax, a trumpet and a piano. "I ask because I'm a musician too, I came to New York to become a singer/songwriter actually, so it's nice to meet someone who shares my affinity for the subject." He's not a musician, not really, more like a collecter, a restorer. He's good on the drums, decent on the guitar and he has a voice when somebody forces it out of him, but he's no musician. "Maybe you can play backup for me sometime, I mean, you know, if you'd like to, I don't play an instrument myself, well I play a little piano but not as well as I'd like to, I've been meaning to take lessons but for some reason I've never gotten around to it, which is quite an anomaly for me because usually whenever I have the desire to learn something or do something I tackle it immediately, am I talking too much? I mean you haven't even told me your name yet, I feel like I'm being incredibly rude, so what is it? Your name I mean?"

"Um, it's Finn," he finally says quietly.

"It's very nice to meet you Finn," she says extending her hand for him to shake. He hesitates a bit before shaking her hand with his free one from behind the barely opened door. She's a nice person, he can tell, a little intense, but nice and he should appreciate her kindness, there was a point not so long ago that he would have, but now it only makes him uncomfortable.

"Uh, thank you, for the banana bread," he mumbles quietly, and at that he shuts the door without another word.

**I know Finn is kind of a jerk so far but he has his reasons, and he won't be for the entire story. Also I know that the first chapter was short, but the rest of them will be longer, as always...**

**Stay tuned folks!**


	2. If I Can Make It Here

She's heard stories about this place, the most popular being that when Guiliani cleaned up the city this was one of the spots he missed, but it was still New York, and Brooklyn for the most part was the perfect home for a struggling, vaguely ethnic twenty something young woman, even the less savory parts, and according to several sources McKinley tower was less a place for violent criminals and more an option for singles looking for cheap rent at the risk of running across the occasional crackhead or stealthy prostitute, so although she would have preferred someplace trendier like Williamsburg, she couldn't complain. New York was her dream, and she wouldn't rest until the day she changed the world with her music. Even still, it would have been nice if the first person she talked to in this building, the person she would be living next door to for the indefinite future, hadn't so thoroughly blown her off. She hated that she wasted her banana bread on such a rude person, still, she couldn't pretend not to notice him in that way a woman tended to notice a man. He was annoyingly handsome, even his beard and unkempt mop of brown hair couldn't distract from that, in fact it only made him look mildly dangerous in an appealing sort of way, but his gentle voice and soft, amber eyes and sweet peppering of freckles suggested the very opposite of dangerous. She just wondered what the hell his problem was. She shrugs off the unsatisfying encounter as she places her fern on the coffee table, admiring the tiny space, her new home.

She has to admit that she expected to make the move here sooner, not that 25 was old or anything, but she can't help but think the seven years spent waiting tables in Ohio after graduating high school could have been put to better use, still, she made it here and she wasn't going to waste another moment. Her first day and she already planned on attending an open mic in Williamsburg. She opens her suitcase and pulls out her favorite dress, a flowy, navy blue number that hugs her petite body in all the right ways, her good luck dress. She lays it across her bed and begins to strip off her clothes as she heads for the shower, her favorite part of this apartment is by far the tub, in her hometown she would have had to drop about two grand on a clawfoot tub like the one that came standard here, granted it was criminally neglected, with cracks and rust stains along the inside, but there was something charming in it. She decides to turn on the shower before stepping into the tub, she knows that the water sometimes comes out brown when it hasn't been turned on for awhile, and the apartment was vacant for almost a year before she moved here. She twists the knob, anticipating the stream of hot water, immediately pouting when nothing happens. Ms. Sylvester the apartment manager insisted that all of the utilities were fixed after the previous tenant moved out. Groaning audibly she turns the knob back the other way and exits her bathroom, throwing her clothes back on while heading for the front door. She decides not to ring Finn's doorbell again, instead opting for the apartment next to it, she pushes it twice and waits, smiling when an attractive Latina opens the door.

"Well well well, if it isn't the new kid on the block?" she says, bringing a cigarette up to her full, smirking lips. "How's the building treating you so far?"

"I'm sure it would be perfectly lovely, except..."

"Did Mr. Ryerson try to sell you weed? I wouldn't go for it, Puckerman upstairs has way better product," she says, taking another drag of her cigarette.

"Um, no," Rachel responds. "It's my shower, it won't turn on. Does this building have a superintendent?"

"Yes, that would be Mr. Hummel from the top floor," She says, pointing up with her cigarette. "He's a total doll, but unfortunately he also can't fix shit, so if I were you I'd go to his stepson Finn, he's kind of our unofficial handyman."

"Oh," Rachel says, her face falling, she's a bit surprised that he has family here, he seems so reclusive. "That is a problem."

"Let me guess, he was a total dick right?"

"I wouldn't use those exact words," Rachel says.

"He's been through some stuff but he's not such a bad guy once you get to know him, just ask nicely and sure he'll help you out. Either that or attack his male pride, that works for me."

"Santana?" says a pretty blonde coming up behind the Latina, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder and wrapping her arms around her thin waist. "Who's this?"

"Oh, I'm Rachel," Rachel says, extending her hand for the blonde to shake, she shakes her hand from behind Santana and gives her a warm smile, making Rachel happy to know that not everyone here is completely antisocial.

"I'm Brittany," the blonde says brightly.

"So anyway I'm going to finish getting my freak on with my girl Brit, but if you need anything don't be afraid to drop by 'kay," Santana says, waiting for Rachel's nod before shutting the door. At that Rachel lets out a low sigh, reluctantly traipsing up to Finn's apartment again and taking another deep breath before ringing the bell.

"What do you want?" He says from behind the door, not bothering to crack it this time.

"My shower won't turn on," she says. "I hear you're the person to come to."

There's silence on the other side of the door for what seems like so long that she considers taking the risk with Mr. Hummel after all, but finally the door swings open and he exits the apartment with a wrench tucked in his hand, not saying a word as he walks ahead of her. She notices that he walks with a limp as he makes his way to her apartment, letting himself in without comment. She follows him into her bathroom, wondering if she should say something.

"Finn I..." She trails off as he begins to tinker with the pipes on her shower, she's not sure exactly what he's doing, but he seems so focused, she decides to remain silent and watch him work with his shockingly agile hands, and why the hell is she looking at them so intently? She looks down and rubs the back of her neck looking up again only when she hears the spray of water.

"You fixed it," she says, her face beaming. "Thank you so much."

"It's not a problem," He says, turning the shower back off and putting his wrench in his pocket as he turns again and starts to limp out.

"Wait," she says, stopping him in his tracks. He turns to face her and she notices his eyes again. "What do I owe you?"

"For a minute and a half of work? Nothing," He says. "Don't worry about it."

"Still I feel like I should pay you somthing I mean I know it's not your job."

"How about you consider it payment for the banana bread," he offers.

"Okay, that's fair I suppose," she agrees.

And with that he shoots her an uneasy smile and leaves her apartment.

* * *

><p>The first thing she notices upon entering Pete's Candy Store is the help wanted sign, there's some time before open mic starts, so she takes the opportunity to see if they need a waitress, it would be preferable to immediately become famous upon setting foot in New York, but that wasn't exactly the likeliest of scenarios, she would need to find a job sooner rather than later.<p>

"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry," She says, getting the attention of the dark haired bartender behind the counter. "I'm looking for the manager."

"I'm the manager, well, assistant manager," the handsome young man says sheepishly. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm inquiring about the help wanted sign, I have seven years of waitressing experience, so I highly doubt you'll find a better candidate," She says confidently, although inwardly she's a little ashamed of how old that statement makes her seem.

"Excellent, that's just what we're looking for," he says sincerely. "Fill out this application and I'll give it to my boss personally."

"Thank you very much... Blaine," she says, reading his name tag.

"You're very welcome Rachel Berry," he says with a wink, and she blushes a little, he's very handsome and seems sweet, she wonders silently to herself if he's gay.

After she fills out her application in her neat, professional script and drops her ticket for open mic she waits at a table, sipping her virgin pomegranate mojito. They start to pour in at around 4:30, guitars strapped around their bodies and sheet music in hand, most of them are around her age, some a bit younger, and they appear to have a much better energy as a whole than the budding musicians back in Ohio, the sight of it excites her, they're dreamers like her, coming to have their voices heard.

She is the sixth one drawn, after a comic musician who made a lot of jokes about hipsters (ironic considering the sheer volume of hipsters in the audience), a jazz flautist in a cocktail dress, A dreadlocked slam poet telling a simple, effective story about his father, and a clean cut slightly preppy college aged guy with a surprisingly soulful voice and pretty killer guitar skills, and most surprisingly of all, bartender Blaine, who uses his meal break to sing a beautiful, piano accompanied song which upon really listening to the lyrics pretty much answers the "is he gay" question. She ascends the stage as he finishes and she tells him how great he was and he wishes her luck with a cute high five. She wishes that she could play the piano like Blaine, although she's been told time and again that she's better on it than she gives herself credit for. She gives her instrumental CD to the DJ and takes her position in front of the mic, ready to sing her song.

It's hard gauging the response from the stage but she's pretty sure she killed it, bartender Blaine tells her that he teared up a little, and whether he's exaggerating or not, she appreciates the compliment. She tells him it's her first day in the city and that she doesn't know anyone yet, so he invites her to a diner called Diner afterward and she thoroughly enjoys a portabello burger and Bartender Blaine's company.

It's after midnight by the time she gets off the subway, and she thinks maybe it wasn't the best idea to stay out so late, but she couldn't help herself, making a new friend was exactly what she needed. She'll definitely go to open mic again next week, but perhaps she'll make the trip home a little earlier, there's something quite a bit scarier about this neighborhood at night, not so much the darkness, or the random man catcalling from in front of a 7 11, that's nothing her taser can't fix, it's more an underlying sense of dread that she can't place, and it grows once she turns the corner to make her way down the street leading to her apartment, the dark, empty street that seems to close in on her with every step she takes. The apartment is close, just about a block more, but she won't be making that block just yet, not with a gun pointed in her face and the man at the end of it demanding her to hand over her purse. So much for the good luck dress.

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	3. Paper Walls

He has to admit it to himself, this is the best freaking banana bread he's ever tasted. He thinks it as he pops the last bit of it into his mouth at the end of the night, ignoring the groceries he finally went out to buy this afternoon, and he wishes he could get more excited about a beautiful girl with Bambi eyes and a mouth that looks like it was made for kissing bringing him the best banana bread he's ever tasted, but it was silly to think it could ever turn into anything more than a neighborly gesture, he could've gotten a girl like that once when he was still whole, and when people who used to be his friends didn't actively avoid talking to him, when he was still handsome in the acceptable way, not now though. Besides, she may be beautiful and everything, but she does talk more than is probably necessary, he can certainly do without that, even if he does kind of like the way she talks.

He's snapped out of his thoughts of his new neighbor when his doorbell rings again, making him groan as he gets up to see who it is through the peephole, what can anybody possibly want this time of night? Naturally it's her again, wringing her hands and looking down at the floor, and she really is beautiful, although probably not in the way that most people noticed right away, it seemed to be sneaking up on him little by little with each second he looked at her, even now with smeared mascara running down her cheeks and her lip quivering, and it takes a second to realize through the peephole that she's been crying. He doesn't hesitate to open the door this time, he doesn't even keep the security chain latched when he does.

"Rachel?" He says guardedly.

"Finn," she says brokenly. "I'm sorry to bother you so late but may I please use your phone?"

He wordlessly steps aside to let her in. and she enters, protectively wrapping her arms around her slender, shaking body as she does.

He doesn't ask her what happened right away, he just shuffles through his junk drawer, looking for the cell phone he never uses, he finally finds it and hands it to her almost frantically, hoping to keep her tears from escalating, he was never good with girl tears, not even before.

She only dials three buttons, 911 he immediately deduces, and he also realizes that her shoes are missing, either because they were expensive or because whoever mugged her didn't want to be chased.

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry," she says, her voice shaking. "I was mugged in an alley tonight... outside McKinley tower... no I didn't see his face, he was wearing a ski mask... I don't know, maybe 5'10", I can't know for sure... He took everything except my dress, even my jacket and my shoes and... my necklace, the necklace my dads gave me." She starts to break out into sobs at that point, he had noticed her necklace earlier, if only because it stopped right above her modest cleavage, it was in the shape of New York state with a heart stamped through, A New Yorker at heart, too bad she hadn't developed the necessary street smarts of a New Yorker yet. He was never the sharpest but he knew not to walk down dark alleys alone at night.

"Okay, thank you," she says after awhile and presses end. "The police are on their way," she continues, handing him the phone. "The keys to my apartment were in my purse but you know, I can wait in the hallway."

He doesn't know why he's so nervous all of a sudden, or why his hands are so clammy, he doesn't think it's just because she's upset and he has absolutely no idea what to say, or the fact that nobody ever comes into his apartment anymore, and the very idea of it fills him with anxiety, he thinks in addition to those things it's just her in general that makes him nervous.

"Um, no. It's okay, you can wait here... you know, if you want... to wait here," he stammers.

She simply nods, she looks like she's in shock. He wishes he were better at this, at being comforting, or even vocal.

"Thank you," she says under her breath, she walks up to his couch and takes a seat, her face is still streaked with tears and mascara and she still looks shaken up. He hesitates a bit before sitting as far away from her as the couch will allow and with noticeable reservation he reaches over and places a wary hand on her bare shoulder, it's the only thing he can really think of. But as she shoots him a quick glance he pulls it away as if he's been burned.

"Sorry," he says. "I was just..."

"It's okay," she says, giving him a weak half smile.

"Um if you want to just wait for the cops, I was going to do some work on the fire escape," he says, getting up and heading outside.

He likes working this time of night, it's about as quiet as the city is likely to get and there's something relaxing about the twilight. He shuts on the intense outdoor beam and takes a seat, pulling the tarp off of his latest project, a standing bass he acquired at a junkyard. The neck is broken, all of its strings are missing and the table is badly stained and warped but he thinks it will be quite beautiful when he fixes it up. And right now it's a good outlet for avoiding the awkwardness of sitting in his apartment with a beautiful, traumatized stranger, the awkwardness he brought upon himself because he for some stupid reason thought he might be cool about this for once.

"What's that?" he turns his head toward the sound of her voice, she's standing in the door, looking at him with wide eyes. She's wiped away her tears and she looks better already.

"It's a standing bass, I'm restoring it," he says simply, turning his head back to the bass.

"Is that what you did with the other instruments?" She says.

"Yeah, it's kind of a hobby, I guess. I don't play most of them, but I know enough about music to know how they're supposed to sound, and look, I think people forget how nice they can be just to look at." He's surprised at the amount of words that just came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, I had a baby grand at my old house, black, gorgeous. Like a work of art that makes beautiful music."

He looks at her again. "Yeah, that's what I've always thought too," he says. "That old piano in there is from the thirties, this young couple found it in their attic when they moved into their new house in Westchester, it was so beaten up that they gave it away for free on Craigslist. It's like they didn't even know what they had."

"It's beautiful," she says looking back inside at the piano, at that his doorbell rings. It's the cops. "I'll answer it, you can keep working."

It takes about a half an hour for her to talk to the cops, and when she's finished she rings his doorbell again.

"So, I just wanted to thank you, for helping me," she says.

"Oh, it's not a problem," he replies inarticulately.

"I can call a locksmith tomorrow," she says. "Untill then I guess I can..."

"Hang on a sec," he says, and he heads for the junk drawer again, pulling out a dull knife, and once again he leaves his apartment and goes to Rachel's, her following closely behind. It takes him about 30 seconds to Jimmy her door open with the knife. "If I were you I'd get a better lock, but until then at least you can get inside," he says. And with that he disappears back into his apartment. He could have done that to begin with, he wonders to himself why he didn't. Maybe he just didn't think about it... or maybe part of him wanted her there for awhile.

He thinks that she can't sleep, she must still be rattled. He hears her knocking around the apartment all night long through his wall as he works, he thinks she's crying at some point but he can't know for sure, but he knows for sure what happens at around 2 am, because it's hard not to notice when you've been instantly knocked on your ass.

She's singing Death Cab, he knows the song because Kurt brought him their CD for Christmas a few years back. Its one of the few cds he owns, and one of the very few produced after 1985, but it's one of his favorites, especially this song, and she's singing it more beautifully than he's ever heard it before.

_I want to live where soul meets body_  
><em> And let the sun wrap its arms around me<em>  
><em> And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing<em>  
><em> And feel, feel what its like to be new<em>

_ Cause in my head there's a greyhound station_  
><em> Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations<em>  
><em> So they may have a chance of finding a place<em>  
><em> where they're far more suited than here<em>

He doesn't know why, he doesn't sing, not anymore, not really. But hearing her makes him want to sing, so he does, he drops what he's doing and starts to sing along quietly, slowly, hesitantly as he get up and proceeds to press his ear to the wall, and he breaks away long enough to reach for his guitar. He knows this song well enough to play it, so he does, and he sings with her as he does, getting more into it with each note. He wonders if she can hear him too, the walls are paper thin, probably not, he does it quietly because if she hears him she might stop, and he doesn't want her to. He can barely talk to her but he thinks he's fallen in love with her voice at first listen.

_And I do believe it's true_  
><em> That there are roads left in both of our shoes<em>  
><em> But if the silence takes you<em>  
><em> Then I hope it takes me too<em>  
><em> So brown eyes I hold you near<em>  
><em> Cause you're the only song I want to hear<em>  
><em> A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere<em>

_ Where soul meets body_  
><em> Where soul meets body<em>  
><em> Where soul meets bod-<em>

As she stops his heart instantly sinks. She didn't even finish... wait, why didn't she finish?

"Finn?" Oh god, he thinks as she calls his name through the wall. "Is that you?" So much for her not hearing him.

"No," he says without thinking, grimacing in embarrassment. It would have been so much more convincing if he hadn't said anything.

"You're still awake," she says as a statement rather than a question.

"Um, yeah," he says. "I was just working."

"You were singing," she says.

"I don't think so," he says stupidly. She pauses for a second at that.

"It's really hard to hear you," she says, or at least that's what he thinks she's saying. "Do you mind of I come over there for a second? I wanted to talk to you about something."

He's not sure what to say. what does she mean by a second? Does it matter?

"Um, yeah," he stammers. "You can come over."

**Song is _Soul Meets Body_ by Death Cab For Cutie. Stay Tuned Folks!**


	4. Night Owls

_Am I dead?_ she thinks quietly to herself as she walks toward her apartment like a zombie, hugging her body to stave off the cold and her own mounting nerves, the gravel hurting her bare feet. She can't be sure, it all happened so fast, she was always told that when faced with a mugger, to hand over everything without hesitation, so she did, even when he demanded her faux leather jacket and shoes, the only item she hesitated for even a second to give him was the gold necklace that she's had since she was twelve years old, a symbol from her fathers to never give up on her dreams. What did it mean to be forced to take it off of her neck and hand it over to a man with a gun? Was it a sign that she wasn't cut out for her own dreams? Her first night in New York and she has a gun pointed in her face because of her own carelessness and naivete, couldn't have been a good sign. She still wonders if she died as she walks down the hall, if he pulled that trigger and now she's just an apparition haunting the streets, a haunted look on her face and mascara running down her cheeks.

"What's the matter pretty girl?" a clearly stoned man with a mohawk says as she walks past him into the complex, so much for being dead. She doesn't answer him as she continues to her apartment. Her lips quiver as she realizes that her keys were in her purse, mugged and locked out on the same night, so far her big city experience was less than ideal. She takes a deep breath before ringing Finn's doorbell, surely he'll let her use his phone.

* * *

><p>Sleep clearly isn't in the cards tonight, she thinks as she tosses and turns in her bed, she's tried everything to calm her nerves, baking (she'll bring the chocolate chip cookies to Finn in the morning to thank him for his help), hot chamomile tea with milk, a warm bath, a boring book, none of it works, she can't close her eyes, not without picturing that gun and his voice, not without the constant worry that he'll find her apartment and let himself in. She knows it's silly, but she'll get the locks changed in the morning just to be sure. She wonders how long it will take to get over what happened, how long it will take to be able to sleep through the night again. She's already decided she won't let this experience break her, but she has to sleep sometime. She sits up in bed and violently throws the blanket off of herself, she starts to pace the floor not entirely sure why, maybe to tire herself out, either way she doesn't feel like laying down, instead she does the last thing she can think of, the one thing that always puts her mind at ease. She sings<p>

_I want to live where soul meets body_  
><em> And let the sun wrap its arms around me<em>  
><em> And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing<em>  
><em> And feel, feel what its like to be new<em>

_ Cause in my head there's a greyhound station_  
><em> Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations<em>  
><em> So they may have a chance of finding a place<em>  
><em> where they're far more suited than here<em>

_ And I cannot guess what we'll discover_  
><em> When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels<em>  
><em> But I know our filthy hands can wash one another's<em>  
><em> And not one speck will remain<em>

_ And I do believe it's true_  
><em> That there are roads left in both of our shoes<em>  
><em> But if the silence takes you<em>  
><em> Then I hope it takes me too<em>  
><em> So brown eyes I hold you near<em>  
><em> Cause you're the only song I want to hear<em>  
><em> A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere<em>

_ Where soul meets body_  
><em> Where soul meets body<em>  
><em> Where soul meets bod-<em>

She knits her brow in confusion as she hears the voice, a voice rough and gentle at the same time_,_ a man's voice... Finn's voice, singing the same song she is. Did he hear her? it couldn't have been a coincidence, he heard her and instead of yelling for her to shut her piehole the way she feared he might do if he heard, he sang along, very unexpected indeed.

"Finn? Is that you?" she says hesitantly as she presses her ear to the wall.

"No," he says, making her giggle a little, there was something oddly sweet and insecure in that 'no.'"

"You're still awake," she says through her amused smile.

"Um, yeah," he says. "I was just working."

"You were singing,"

"I don't think so," he says making her giggle again.

"It's really hard to hear you, do you mind of I come over there for a second? I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Um, yeah," he stammers. "You can come over."

She grabs the plate of cookies on her way out and makes her way next door.

He smiles nervously as he opens the door for her, and she smiles back.

"I made you these," she says, handing them the cookies, and he smiles a little wider and she notices the dimples in his cheeks and it makes her blush a little.

"You didn't have to," he says. "But thank you."

She walks past him then and he shuts the door.

"So, can't sleep huh?" he says as he places the plate of cookies on the table.

"Why do you ask?" she says a bit nervously, and he simply shrugs.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He says, sitting down and taking a bite of cookie.

"Oh yes, I was just wondering about... um, locksmiths." she says, saying the first thing that comes to mind. "I wanted to know if you know of any good ones."

"Um, yeah," he says. "I know a guy, I can get you his number, he does other stuff too... not just locks." she thinks he sounds nervous about something, what could he possibly be nervous about? It's not her is it? "These are really good," he adds quietly about the cookie.

"Thank you," she says. "My dad taught me, he was an ACLU lawyer but he quit to open a bakery, I used to help out sometimes as a kid."

"That's cool," he says. She sits across from him then and gives him a searching look, she doesn't mean too, but there's just something about his face that requires study, so many little details that keep coming to her attention, and she wants to count his freckles with her fingers. He looks away nervously, taking another bite of cookie.

"Finn?" she says quietly, and he looks her in the eye again in response. "What happened to your leg? If you don't mind my asking."

An odd look reaches his face, and she thinks it might be fear. "Um... I guess..." He trails off and looks down again, putting the last bit of cookie into his mouth. "I guess it sort of got away from me."

"How do you mean?" she says, knitting her brow in confusion. and at that he sighs deeply and bends down, reaching for his pantleg, and he hesitates a little before pulling it up. Without meaning to she puts a hand over her mouth at the sight of the prosthesis, she hadn't looked closely enough to realize that his sock covered foot wasn't exactly a normal shape.

"It was a land mine," he explains, rolling his pant leg down again. "There was a kid in the field and I just... I had to get him out of there," he explains. "He was fine but..." he trails off again and she nods.

"Iraq?" she guesses.

"Afghanistan," he corrects. "I got back two years ago."

"I'm sorry," she says quietly, and she really is. She wants to reach out and put her hand over his, it's what she would do whenever one of her dads was upset about something. As she does she halfway expects him to pull it away, but he doesn't, he just gives her another nervous, dimpled half smile. She likes the feel of his hands, the agile fingers she's wanted to touch since he fixed her shower.

"Rachel, can I ask you something?" he says.

"Sure," she replies.

"Are you afraid to sleep in your apartment?"

She looks down sheepishly and moves her hand away from his. "Of course not, don't be silly. I'm a modern woman Finn, not some helpless damsel in distress that can't handle a little adversity. I mean... where are you going?"

She's getting rather tired of him getting up and leaving without a word, she thinks as he disappears into his bedroom. She wonders if she should leave but then he emerges once again, a pillow and blanket in his arms and sets them on the couch.

"You, know if you want." he says. "I'm not a psycho, I promise."

"No, Finn it's really okay, you've already done enough." she says, thinking that he surprises her more and more with each passing moment.

"I't's really not a big deal, you have to sleep right?" he says as if it really isn't a big deal.

She exhales in defeat, she knows he's right she doesn't stand a chance of getting any sleep tonight after what happened, she nods once and gets up to head for his couch.

"By the way," she says. "You sing beautifully."

"Thanks," he replies. "But that wasn't me."

"Sure," she says and she shuts her eyes.


	5. Big City, Small World

**Sorry for the wait on this, work was hectic last week. Enjoy the update!**

He's surprised that he woke up before she did, she seems like such a morning person, but he supposes she isn't used to being up so late, and she hadn't exactly had an easy first night. The corner of his lips involuntarily turn up a little as he watches her sleep. He decides to leave her be as he begins to make breakfast, he isn't much of a cook but living on his own for so long forced him to pick up a few things. His scrambled eggs are pretty good and he makes a mean cup of coffee. He hopes against hope that she won't make a habit of sleeping here, he needs his space after all, but one night seems reasonable enough, as long as she's just sleeping, when she sleeps she doesn't talk and he doesn't have to try to talk back, he's just not as good at it as she is. She probably thinks he's boring. A boring, lonely cripple who looks like a hobo and collects trash like one.

He makes scrambled eggs and chocolate chip toaster waffles, and hazelnut coffee and leftover porkchops brought home from weekly dinner with his mom and Burt. He makes enough for two, but if she doesn't partake he can easily eat her half. He sits down to his meal just as Rachel starts to stir in her sleep, the smell of the coffee probably nudging her awake.

"Finn?" she says groggily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. And he notices her sexy bedhead and it makes him blush a little. "What time is it?"

"9:30," he answers before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Oh my God," she says, throwing the covers off of her lap and getting up from the couch. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep."

"Don't worry about it," he says as she begins to fold his blanket. "Did you want some breakfast?"

"You made me breakfast?" she says, stopping, as if surprised.

"There was enough for two," he says, shrugging.

"Thank you," she says. "That's really sweet Finn."

Sweet, he can't remember the last time a girl has called him sweet. Not since...

"I'm really embarrassed," she says, helping herself to a plate and the rest of the eggs and waffles. She gets a cup of coffee next and sits across from him. "I'm usually such a morning person."

"It's okay, I'm usually not." he says, shrugging. "You didn't want any porkchops?"

"Well, I'm Jewish," she says sheepishly. "I'm also a vegetarian, but I don't like to make a big deal out of it because I was vegan in high school but I gave that up because I had this insatiable weakness for cheese. I think it was all of the pizza my college roommate brought home. Sometimes I feel like I'm betraying all of the baby chickens of the world but I usually reserve the eggs exclusively for baking, but I'll make an exception here since you went through all of this trouble. These are delicious by the way," she stops only to finish another forkful of eggs.

"Um, thank you," he says. Dear god that was a lot of words. "So I guess next time I go grocery shopping I can pick out some vegetarian stuff, you know for next time," _next time?_ Where the hell did that come from? He thinks to himself.

She blushes a little and continues to her meal. "I really wouldn't want to impose on you anymore. I'm sure you appreciate your space."

He does, he's always appreciated his space, which is why it will be a relief when things go back to normal, even though he's sort of the one who chose to make them not normal in the first place, why was that anyway? It's not until his doorbell rings that he realizes that he's staring at her, and she's staring back at him. How he forgot that Kurt was coming today is beyond him but he's not looking forward to having to explain Rachel being here.

"Oh no, I didn't know you had company," she says, wiping her mouth and getting up frantically.

"It's my stepbrother," he sighs. Getting up to answer it.

"Should I leave?" she says.

"And get back into your apartment how?" he replies. "But could you maybe wait in my room, I just don't want-"

"Finn who are you talking to in there?" Kurt cries from behind the door.

"Uh... Just myself," Finn says nervously.

"I heard a woman's voice," Kurt shoots back.

Finn sighs again and opens the door at that point, not bothering to hide his visitor anymore.

"Kurt, this is Rachel, Rachel my stepbrother Kurt." Finn says defeatedly

"Well hello," Kurt says, raising his eyebrows in amusement and extending his hand for Rachel to shake, which she does with a warm smile. "I didn't know you had a lady friend."

"Oh it's nothing like that, I'm just Finn's neighbor," Rachel explains. "I ran into some trouble last night and your stepbrother very generously offered me a place to stay.

"Oh so you're the new tenent, very nice to meet you," Kurt says.

"So you live here too?" Rachel says brightly.

"No, I used to, but I moved to Williamsburg with my boyfriend Blaine last month."

"Wait a second," Rachel says, knitting her brow in what appears to be confusion. "Is this Blaine you're talking about by any chance a bartender at Pete's Candy Store?"

The surprised look on Kurt's face seems to be enough to answer her question.

"Is your new neighbor by any chance psychic?" Kurt asks, to which Finn simply shrugs, he should be talking he knows that he should be, but he can't stop himself from feeling awkward long enough to form words.

"I have shown signs of having psychic abilities, yes," Rachel says. "But in this case I know Blaine from open mic, he actual took me out for a portabello burger afterward last night. He was very welcoming. He actually mentioned a boyfriend who used to live in the tower but I didn't put the two together."

"Well it's great to see you're making friends already," Kurt says. "And I suppose I've made one by association."

"I suppose you have," she says brightly. "Anyway Finn, I wouldn't want to butt in on your family time, I should really be going."

"Nonsense, you don't have to leave," Kurt says.

"Don't you have some business to take care of in town though? At the DMV and stuff?" Finn says. He doesn't mean to be dismissive, or maybe he does, all he knows is that there's only so much more he can take of Kurt picking out china patterns for him and Rachel in his head as they talk. Kurt is so transparent it's ridiculous

"I suppose the earlier I start the better," Rachel agrees and at that Finn takes his knife and follows her to her apartment, Kurt following closely behind with that same hopeful smile on his face, it takes him a bit longer to help her in this time, if only because his hand is shaking as Kurt and Rachel stand there. Thankfully he gets the door open, but before she disappears into her apartment she faces him once more and stands on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his cheek. And the feeling of her soft lips on his face makes his heart hammer in his chest if only for a few fleeting moments. "Thank you Finn, your kindness won't be forgotten." At that she leaves the two of them alone in the hallway.

"Don't start," Finn says firmly, before Kurt can say a word.

"What? I wasn't going to say anything," Kurt says, putting his hands up defensively. Finn simply shakes his head and goes back into the apartment.

"So," Kurt says, as Finn closes the door behind them. "I'm assuming you've already picked out a gift for my father and Carole's anniversary?"

"You know me," Finn says under his breath, as he begins to put away his dishes.

"Yes and you always give the most beautiful gifts, like that antique cupboard from last year" Kurt says. "I don't want you upstaging me this year again."

"I don't mean to," Finn says, wiping off his breakfast table.

"I know, that's the messed up part. every year I agonize over outdoing you and you annihilate me without even trying."

"I could not get them anything," Finn says, "It's not like I want to go to this thing."

"You have to go Finn," Kurt argues. "Even cousin Rory is coming."

"Is he bringing that annoying girl this time? What's her name? Honey?"

"You mean his live in girlfriend of the last five years, the one who you've met on 12 separate occasions? Yes I'm pretty sure he's bringing her." Kurt says. "And her name is Sugar."

"I'm sorry, Honey would be a ridiculous name," Finn says sarcastically. He grabs a pad and sits, beginning to sketch as Kurt helps himself to a cup of coffee.

"Jesus, why can't you be this quick witted around pretty girls who obviously like you?" Kurt says, rolling his eyes, and Finn shoots him a look. "What?" Kurt continues. "I know that you're totally clueless but that doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"She was just scared to sleep in her apartment," Finn reasons. "I let her sleep on my couch, that's it."

"She's been here one day and she's already sleeping over?" Kurt says, raising his eyeborws suggestively. "How Holly Golightly of her."

"Who's Holly Golightly?" Finn says.

"From Breakfast at Tiffany's?" Kurt says, clearly flummoxed, Finn's face is still blank. "Really? New York playgirl who's charm negates her obvious boundary issues? She shakes up the life of a quiet brooder like yourself."

"Not ringing any bells," Finn says, continuing to sketch.

"Let's just say they fall in love at the end," Kurt says. "But only in the fantastically racist movie version."

"It's not like that," Finn insists. "I don't even like her, she talks all the time, and she's obviously needy, and she got mugged her first night here. I give it two weeks."

"Until you kiss or sleep together?" Kurt says slyly.

"Until we kiss- I mean, until she leaves, I meant I'll give it two weeks until she leaves," Finn says correcting himself too late.

"I knew it," Kurt says.

"Look she's not interested anyway, why would she be?"

"Because you're a catch and you don't even realize it," Kurt says. "You're sensitive, talented, and you have a really nice face under all that shrubbery."

"You have to say that, you're my brother," Finn protests.

"As your brother I'm actually required to call you a douchebag and provide frequent Indian burns, so believe you me I wouldn't say anything nice unless I meant it."

Finn remains silent and continues to sketch.

"Man, I could kill that woman for messing you up so bad," Kurt says, absentmindedly wandering toward the window.

"Could we not talk about that please?" Finn says quietly.

"Huh, speak of the devil..."

"Finn looks up to see what Kurt is talking about, but he doesn't have to see anything as he hears the yelling not a second later.

"You complete asshole!" Finn would know that voice anywhere, the same voice that used to yell at him. He stands up from the table and joins Kurt by the window, where sure enough the angry, blonde reminder of his not so distant tortured romantic past is once again having a very public spat in fornt of the building with the current object of her constant anger.

"Looks like more baby momma drama courtesy of Puckerman," Kurt says to which Finn remains silent.

"Come on baby, don't be that way," Puck says gently. "Just come inside."

"The hell I will! And don't call me baby, you lost that right when you went behind my back again after you swore to me that you'd stop this nonsense!"

"Stop trying to provide for my girl and and daughter? Not fucking likely Quinn."

"Yes, we have a child together Puck, a child that I love so much that gave up everything to have her, what have you given up? Nothing. You're still the same inconsiderate manchild you always were. And I'll be damned if I'm going to raise Beth around this poison."

"Poison?" Puck says as if the words taste bad in his mouth. "It's just weed Quinn, it's not like I'm a crack dealer or something."

"It's only a matter of time," she says spitefully.

"Is that really what you think of me?" Puck says.

"What am I supposed to think?" Quinn says. "Why don't you get a real job Puck, and for god sake shave that stupid thing off," she continues, gesturing toward his head flippantly.

"Now my mohawk offends you?"

"Newsflash, it was stupid when you were eighteen and it's stupid now that you're 28. Grow the hell up!"

"Quinn why are you acting this way?" Puck says, reaching his arms out for her. "Tell me the truth baby."

"Forget it," Quinn spits, frantically pulling her purse up higher on her shoulder. "I have to go to my job, I'm sure you've heard of them, it's that thing that adults have."

"Okay but are you going to come over later, so we can talk?"

"I'm not going to sleep with you tonight Puck."

"I said_ talk_."

"I know what you meant, and you lost that right too," At that she spins on her heel and marches off.

"Fuck," Puck exclaims sharply running his hands over his mohawk and kicking at the gravel in frustration.

"I can't believe you used to associate with those people," Kurt says. "They're like Maury Povich show rejects."

"Yeah," Finn says, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I know."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	6. The Long Sad Story

She was positive that she had never been more exhausted in her entire life, getting her locks changed, running around the city, replacing all of her lost documents, credit card and cell phone had really taken it out of her. It didn't help that she had gotten lost four times during her journey, she knew that she wasn't the most street smart of girls having grown up in that cow town, but she at least thought she'd be able to navigate her way around the city at least a little. By the end of it all she needed a drink, and not a virgin one. Luckily Pete's was just opening and pretty deserted by the time she finished everything she had to do. She was surprised at how happy she was to see Bartender Blaine behind the counter, throwing her a smile as she entered.

"Why hello Rachel Berry," Blaine says brightly. "What brings you back this fine afternoon? not that it isn't great to see you."

"Can you mix me another one of your delicious pomegranate Mojitos? And maybe add just a touch of Rum this time?"

"Hard day?"

"Uh, the worst," she groans as Blaine begins to mix the sugar and lime juice in the glass and smash the mint leaves along the sides of it.

"Well, I have good news for you, you got an interview," he says, adding the rum and pomegranate juice to the glass. "Can you be here Wednesday at 3?"

"Of course, oh my god that's so great." Rachel beams.

"Yeah, my boss tried calling but it went straight to voicemail."

"Oh, about that," she says sheepishly. "I sort of had the misfortune of getting my purse stolen at gunpoint yesterday."

"Oh no," Blaine says sympathetically, handing her the drink. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm still a little rattled, but fine," she says, before taking a long drink of the concoction. "Luckily my neighbor was very kind to me. I believe you know him actually, Kurt's brother Finn."

"Wait a second, Finn Hudson?" Blaine says in what looks like disbelief.

"Yeah," she says, blushing a little at the name, she couldn't deny that she had thought about him a little throughout the day, about that voice of his and his Amber eyes that suggested a softness he didn't want anybody to see, that he had shown to her so tentatively, she didn't want to be one of those girls, that girl who went after the most damaged guy she could find, certain that she could change him, but something told her he didn't need changing as much as healing, he was happy once, she could tell.

"How is he anyway?" Blaine says after a few moments, his voice growing a bit sad. "It's been awhile since I last saw the guy."

"He's very guarded isn't he?" she says. "It makes me wonder what could have happened to him. I mean, I know being injured so severely must have been very traumatic."

"Trust me, it wasn't just the injury," Blaine says.

"What was is that made him so..." she trails off unable to find the right word. "How long have you known Finn anyway?"

"Well we went to high school together, me him and Kurt," Blaine explains. "And... well I don't know if I should be telling you this, I mean I just met you."

"It's okay, I promise I won't breath a word of this to anyone," she says sincerely. "I'm just curious about him I guess."

"Well Finn was actually really popular in high school, everybody loved him," Blaine says. "He excelled in sports, he was homecoming king, prom king, dated the head cheerleader, he was in a band, the whole nine."

"Wow," she says, surprised to say the least. "What happened?"

"Life happened," Blaine says, shrugging. "His senior year he was rejected for a basketball scholarship from SUNY that he was really counting on, so he decided to go with the armed forces, on the condition that Quinn Fabray would marry him when he came back."

"Head cheerleader?" Rachel deduces, and Blaine nods.

"He wanted to make something of himself, prove that he was good enough for her, and she accepted, they had their whole lives planned out, he would spend four years in the army as an aircraft mechanic, then get a cushy job with the Metro Transit Authority while she taught drama to autistic kids."

"She teaches drama to autistic kids?" Rachel says, impressed.

"That's where her sainthood ends, trust me," Blaine continues. "A year before the end of his tour he received a letter from Quinn, she was pregnant, when he came home they were going to be a real family. He was the happiest he had ever been, he sent a little camouflage onesie and he talked to Kurt for a straight hour on the phone discussing baby names."

"Oh... I'm guessing this story doesn't end with Finn and Quinn and baby makes three," Rachel says darkly.

"Not if you consider the fact that Quinn was three months along when she sent the letter and Finn's last leave had only been three weeks earlier."

"It wasn't his?" Rachel says, shocked.

"He didn't find out until he got home and she was already born, 'prematurely' or so Finn thought."

"How did he find out?"

"Noah Puckerman, the real dad, Finn's best friend or should I say former best friend, promised to keep it quiet for Quinn's sake but he couldn't say the same for his mom, she crashed the baby's christening demanding to hold her grandchild, the argument that ensued got so heated that Quinn ended up confessing to everything."

"Oh my god, he must've been so heartbroken," Rachel says.

"He was, so much so that he signed up for another tour with the Army," Blaine says. "He probably would have stayed away forever if it weren't for stepping on that mine."

Hearing the sad story her heart broke for Finn instantly, Santana was right, he had been through some stuff.

"Ever since he got back he just shuts everyone out," Blaine continues. "I tried getting him to go out with us, get back into the dating game, just start living again, but it's no use. It doesn't help that he who shall remain nameless lives in this same building."

"Wait a minute, Noah Puckerman... he goes by Puck doesn't he?" Rachel deduces. "Mohawk? good build?"

"How did you know?"

"I think he and Quinn were arguing in front of the tower this morning," she says remembering the scene, it's easy to believe that Quinn was something in high school, she really was incredibly beautiful, but Rachel couldn't believe that she could do that to Finn, that anybody could do that to anyone.

"Yeah, they do that," Blaine says, chuckling a little. "Kurt used to have the best stories about Puck and Quinn before he moved out."

"I'd imagine," Rachel says, finishing off her mojito and handing the empty glass back to Blaine along with a healthy tip, it's still early but she thinks she really should be getting home to nurse off the stress of the day.

"Well I better be going," she says. "But please tell your boss that I'll be here ten to three wednesday and thank him very much for the opportunity."

"I'll tell him, you be careful out there okay honey," Blaine says warmly, and she smiles at him one last time before spinning on the barstool and leaving, thoughts of Finn swimming around in her head.

She takes a cab home, it will take her a long time to trust the subway again, even in the daytime, she wants to know this city in and out before she even attempts to set foot on that thing alone again. She sets her things down and smiles when she realizes again that she's on her own now, making strides toward her dreams. She thinks if it weren't for Finn and Blaine she'd feel a lot differently now, a lot more like calling her dads and sobbing into the phone, but somehow knowing there are people in this city who at least have the capacity to care about her makes things feel a lot less intimidating.

She bakes chocolate croissants if only to center herself and fill the apartment with that smell she loves so much, she showers while they bake and collapses into her bed to watch a nice girl movie. She can do this, she thinks as she takes a bite of the pastry and settles on _Music and Lyrics_ on FX. There's nothing to be afraid of, the house is secure and smells of chocolate, she's relaxed, she's accomplished everything she needed to today, all is well. Maybe she'll even be able to sleep through the night.

* * *

><p><em>Blam!<em>

She jerks awake suddenly, her heart racing, her eyes going straight to her bedside clock, it's 10:14, she slept for two hours only to be awakened by... was it a gunshot? It couldn't have been. It was probably just a car backfiring or something, nothing to worry about. She turns her TV on again and turns the volume up, _The Devil Wears Prada_ is just coming on on FX, she loves this movie, she could watch it again and again, and there's no reason to fear what could be a gunshot outside her window with Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep there to entertain her. It doesn't take long for her to settle in and calm down a bit, she even manages a laugh When Emily Blunt does her bitchy routine. Tonight will be a piece of cake.

_Blam!_

She flinches again, shutting her eyes hard and counting backward from 10. _It's okay Rachel, it's just a car it's just a car,_ she thinks to herself before turning the volume up again.

_Blam!_

"Okay," she says, hopping out of bed and grabbing her pillow and the plate of croissants. She scrambles into her slippers and grabs her new set of keys, thinking that one more night wasn't hurting anybody. She knocks on his door tentatively hoping for the best. When he opens the door she can't help but notice that he looks just the slightest bit annoyed.

"It was just a car backfiring," Finn sighs as if reading her mind, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Don't be silly Finn," she says "I'm not here for another sleepover, I simply wanted to bring you these treats I made, you know I really can't thank you enough for your hospitality yesterday."

"You're just here to bring me croissants? You're not trying to sleep on my couch again?" he says skeptically.

"Of course not," she chuckles unconvincingly. "I mean, I barely know you, last night was a very special case."

"Is that why you brought your pillow?" he says, glancing at the fluffy pillow under her arm. And she simply shifts her gaze to the floor and bites her lip nervously, before meeting his gaze again, her face saying it all. At that he gives her a little half smile, one that seems a little warmer and easier than before and steps aside to let her in.

"So, do you like the Devil Wears Prada?" She says as she enters his apartment.

"Never saw it," he replies.

"Well you my friend are in for a treat," she beams, going for his remote control, and all he can do is shake his head and smile once more in defeat.

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	7. Boundary Issues

He doesn't get it, why it keeps happening, why she keeps coming over, whether it's just fear or something else. but after about the fifth night he starts to expect it. He doesn't put up a fuss, he doesn't talk much, just listens to her go on and on about her day, about nailing the interview at Pete's and how awesome the reception was for her last open mic and "you should really come with me sometime, I could use a guitarist." and he listens to her talk while he works, fixing the neck on the standing bass and sanding its damaged table, donning his glasses to do the more intricate soldering work on the strings, she says he looks nice in them, what is her deal anyway? She talks right up until she falls asleep most nights, unless they're watching a movie, she fell asleep on his shoulder when they watched _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ together two nights before (it was apparently one of her favorites too, and from watching it he could see where Kurt got the comparison from), it took a tricky few minutes to get her head off of him so he could get off of the couch. And on the days she wakes up earlier then he does, which is most days, she makes him breakfast with food from her apartment, and he knows that he should say something, about her boundary issues, but the girl makes a mean breakfast. Besides, It's not as if she's moved in or anything, she still spends most of the time in her apartment, she doesn't come around until about 11 every night, after she's showered and baked something, and practiced her singing. It's his favorite time of the day when she sings, he doesn't join in anymore, just listens.

They're both in the laundry room this afternoon and she shoots him a sweet smile from her place in front of the dryer, and he looks away nervously, as is his way. Then when she's returned to her task he looks at her again, watching her, listening to her hum.

"So, you wanna fuck her?" Santana says casually, taking a seat next to Finn.

"No," Finn says unconvincingly, shifting his gaze away from Rachel. "What do you want Santana?"

"This is what neighbors do, they have conversations, why does there need to be a reason?"

"Because the only time you ever talk to me is when you need me to fix something," Finn says.

"You know, this whole cynicism thing you have going isn't going to get you into the new girls pants stumpy," She quips. "But since you ask do you think you can take a look at my radiator, it keeps making this knocking sound."

"I'll take a look at it when I'm done," he says curtly.

"Why thank you, and since you're helping me..." she trails off then, and he wishes he knew what was on her mind, and even more so when she gets up and saunters over to Rachel. Just then his blood turns to ice water in his veins as she whispers something to Rachel and they both shoot him a look, and he thinks that maybe he doesn't need to watch his clothes, he'll just come back for them later. He stands up with some struggle, wanting to hightail it on out of there before she comes to talk to him, but it's too late, Santana has already exited the laundry room with her clothes in tow and Rachel is coming over, a sweet blushing smile on her face.

"Hello Finn," she says brightly. "How are you?"

"Um hu-hi," he stammers, and clears his throat. "I'm fine, I'm good."

"That's good," she says, taking a seat, and he very hesitantly sits back down, still wondering what the hell Santana said to her.

"So I got a call from Pete's today, I start training Monday," she says.

"That's awesome," he says rather emotionlessly.

"I really do think that it's the ideal job for a struggling young singer trying to make it in the big city," she continues. "With all of the talent that place attracts I'm sure to be surrounded by inspiring people all the time. I think it's really important for musicians to interact with other musicians, dont you?"

He nods once in agreement, remaining silent.

"And I know it's not your scene, but I'm still holding out hope that you'll join me for open mic, even if it's only to watch. I really am quite good, the acoustics in the apartment hardly do my voice justice. And I'm sure you sound amazing too when I'm not hearing your voice through a wall, when you're on a stage with a microphone."

"I don't-

"I know you don't sing," she finishes, as if she doesn't believe the words. "Even still, it's a nice thought. But if you are going to come just to watch I recommend tomorrow, I have a new song that I'm really excited about. I just hope my voice doesn't crack on the higher notes, my throat has been a bit scratchy today, but I'm sure it's nothing. I never get sick, I mean never."

She goes on like that for a while, with him simply nodding along and offering a yeah or an uh huh every now and again, she doesn't seem to mind his silence, she doesn't even seem to notice, but contrary to how uninvolved he seems, he's listening intently, if only for some clue as to what Santana said. But she doesn't give one, and soon her dryer buzzes and she gets up to gather her clothes.

"Well, I'm going to go fold these upstairs, but think about what I said," she continues, starting out. But before she can reach the door she turns around and bends down to whisper something to him. "By the way, I think you're hot too."

* * *

><p><em>She thinks I'm hot?<em> he thinks to himself as he works later that night, he's perplexed,_ why? I'm missing a leg, guys with missing limbs aren't hot, they're depressing_. Maybe she's just being nice, charitable, but it's not like Artie from the first floor gets a lot of play for that reason. He wonders if he should ask her what he meant by that when she comes over later, he's not going to be able to stop thinking about it until he does, and the last thing he should be thinking about is her. She's so annoying, the way she's always dropping by as if she doesn't even need to ask anymore, talking his ear off about every little thing, making him cave with food. He hates it, things were so much simpler when he spent his nights alone, working, nobody there to bother him. A week ago this time he'd be listening to music or watching a movie _he_ wanted to watch, like_ Braveheart_, although he had to admit that_ The Devil Wears Prada_ was surprisingly enjoyable. A week ago she wouldn't be here and, wait... where was she? He looks at his clock, it's pushing midnight, shouldn't she be here? Shouldn't he have heard her singing at some point, why wasn't she here with pumpkin spice bars or Turtle pie? Why wasn't she making him uncomfortable by crying through through _Wall-e_? He presses his ear up to the wall, he only hears something that sounds a little like snoring, she didn't have a guy there did she? She definitely doesn't snore. These thoughts course through his mind until he finally manages to fall asleep, no Rachel at his door tonight.

He doesn't see her the rest of the next day either. He wonders if he should take her up on her offer to go to open mic, but he knows he won't be able to deal with that, besides, his weekly dinner with Burt and his mom is tonight, and as much as he always dreads it, seeing them is bound to be a lot less intimidating than the other option. He brings a plate of brownies courtesy of Rachel and hopes to get the night over with quickly.

"So Finn, are you bringing a date for the party?"Carole asks pointlessly as they eat. "We want to know how much food to order."

"Please Carole," Kurt says. "Do you forget who you're talking to?"

"Come on Kurt, I'm sure there's somebody he can take," Burt says as if Finn isn't even there. "What about that nice Latina girl from next door to you."

"Gay," Kurt says.

"Really?" Burt replies. "Well okay, how about that girl who runs the dry cleaners, what's her name? Tina? She's cute."

"She's also been married for three years, how is it that you're so out of touch with the people in this building?" Kurt says.

"I'm just throwing out ideas," Burt says, shrugging.

"Look honey, if you don't want to bring a date it's fine," Carole says warmly.

"Well, let's not rule anything out, what about that girl who spent the night at your place that day?"

Finn nearly chokes on his beer at Kurt's statement, not believing his ears. Kurt could really be a bitch sometimes. "Thanks Kurt," Finn says under his breath.

"Wait a second, you had a girl over? An actual girl?" Carole says excitedly. "Does she live in the building?"

"She's his new neighbor," Kurt offers.

"It's not like that," Finn says,_ although she did say I was hot..._

"This is fantastic," Carole says, ignoring Finn's statement. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Yes what was her name... Holly?" Kurt says slyly.

"Rachel," Finn says under his breath and takes another sip of his beer. "But I was just helping her out. She got mugged and she was too afraid to sleep in her apartment so I gave her a place to stay for the night..." _and every night since_... "it's not a big deal."

"Finn you should ask this girl," Carole says. "She's new to the city, and I'm sure she's still traumatized, she'd probably be delighted to get to know someone."

"You just said it's okay if I wanted to go alone," Finn sighs.

"Well that's before I found out about your little damsel mister," Carole teases.

"All I know is if she makes brownies as good as these you should marry her," Burt cuts in. There's no way he's telling them where he got those brownies now.

* * *

><p>He gets back home at eight after a thoroughly agonizing night, Rachel should still be out. He still wonders why she didn't come over last night, maybe she finally feels safe enough to sleep in her apartment, which is definitely a good thing... isn't it?<p>

When it gets to be nearly midnight again and she still doesn't show up his knee starts to bounce involuntarily, and he glances at the door several times a minute and he gets up again to press his ear to the wall. He doesn't hear snoring this time, he hears what sounds like coughing, violent coughing, and at that he leaves without another thought and goes next door to her apartment, knocking on her door like he hasn't done on anyone else's for as long as he remembers. He doesn't know whether he expects her to open it or not but he's surprised when a thick and raspy voice, one very unlike Rachel's sounds from behind the door.

"Uh, what is it?" She says miserably.

"Rachel, are you okay?" he says softly.

"I think I may be dying but other than that I'm fine."

"Can you open the door?"

"Trust me, you don't want that, just go to bed Finn."

He sighs then, not sure what's come over him, why he cares whether she opens the door or not, but he does. "Please?" he says, shocked at his own words.

And finally she opens it, and a worried look reaches his face at the sight of her, eyes puffy and glassy, nose red and swollen, hair disheveled.

"So you never get sick huh?" he teases.

"Shut up," she scoffs and begins to cough and he can hear the mucus rattling in her throat. "Go away now I don't want to get you sick."

He doesn't oblige, instead he reaches up and presses the back of his hand against her forehead.

"God Rachel, you're burning up," he says in a panicked whisper.

"I'm fine, really I just... and she doesn't finish, he's pretty sure she's just fallen asleep on her feet, and when she collapses against him, he panics a little until he realizes she's just exhausted, she's probably still not sleeping well. She's small so it's easy to pick her up, even with his leg.

"Where are you taking me?" she says sleepily as he carries her toward her bed.

"Just to your bed," he replies and lays her down.

"You're not going to leave me are you?" she says, delirious, her voice a million miles away. "I promise I won't breath on you."

"No, I'm not going anywhere," he says softly and he takes the cold compress laying in a dish on her nightstand combs her hair away from her face with his fingers and presses it against her forehead. "I'm right here."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	8. No Big Deal

**Oh my god, that last episode, I really do think I'm going to spend the rest of my life crying. It was just so damn beautiful, and I know that nothing I write will ever compare to that and I simply could not give a damn it was enough that I got to watch it. It was perfect. Oh yeah, here's the new chapter.**

She feels like she's been hit by a truck, her whole body aches like crazy, she can barely breath, and her throat is on fire, yet somehow she still feels a lot better than she did yesterday. She feels like she might actually survive as she wakes up that morning. It takes a second to remember everything that happened the night before, but little by little she remembers Finn coming to her aid the night before, carrying her to her bed, getting her fever down, singing to her softly, wait, was he singing or did she dream that? Either way a small smile reaches her lips as she looks up to see that he's still there, asleep on the chair by her bed, she's actually a little surprised that he didn't leave after she fell asleep, then she realizes that she has his arm in a vice grip, holding it like a child would hold a cherished stuffed animal as they slept. And she's a little embarrassed when she notices the bit of drool she's left on him, she wipes it off gently with the sleeve of her night shirt and focuses all of her strength into sitting up.

"Finn?" she says, her voice like gravel. He doesn't stir and she can't help but notice how adorable he looks when he sleeps, even with the beard he looks so young and sweet. "Finn?" she repeats a little louder, reaching out to comb his hair a little with her fingers, and finally his eyes flicker open.

"Oh, hey," he says sleepily. "Is it morning?"

"Yeah, you slept here," she says, her voice still hoarse.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," he says, starting up.

"No, don't be," she says, grabbing his shoulder, keeping him in place. "It's okay."

He doesn't respond as he looks at her and presses his hand against her forehead again. "Your fever's down."

"Thank you for that by the way, I just hope you don't get sick, I would feel awful."

"I got a flu shot, I'll be fine," he assures her. "Did you want some alphabet soup? I have some in my cupboard it's been in there forever. There's no meat in it or anything, it will probably help your throat feel better."

"No, Finn, that's okay you've done so much already."

"It's just soup, it's no big deal," he says, shrugging, and with that he gets up and heads for her door. "I'll be right back."

She keeps expecting him to leave, to bring up something he needs to do, but that doesn't happen. She eats soup and he washes her dishes and he brings her what she needs when she asks for it, even sometimes when she doesn't. He has a humidifier in his apartment that he brings over, he says it was a gift from his mom and he never uses it. He brings over a DVD of _The Princess Bride_ because it was always his favorite movie to watch when he was sick as a child, he tells her that he dressed up as the Dread Pirate Roberts four Halloweens in a row, she thinks she'll let him pick the movies more often. He makes her tea with honey and it puts her to sleep almost immediately and when she wakes up from her nap he's still there, watching a rerun of _The Walking Dead_ and she smiles and goes back to sleep. She thinks she can get used to this, not the flu of course, but Finn being there, he doesn't say much, but it's okay, he doesn't have to. She thinks she probably says enough for the both of them.

He goes home later that night once her fever goes away and she feels well enough to move around on her own, and she misses him immediately, even with him being right next door. She wonders what that means.

* * *

><p>She's recovered by the time her first shift at Pete's rolls around, and she couldn't be more anxious, not because of the job, but because she needs to talk to someone about Finn, someone who knows him, and she knows that Blaine will be there. She knows she could have called him, but the high school girl in her wants it to seem casual. Her training goes swimmingly, she's done this kind of work before, she could do it in her sleep. After her first shift she sits at the bar, nursing a mojito and waiting for Blaine to clock out and meet her at the bar, when he finally takes a seat next to her and she goes through the motions of exchanging proper greetings she can't help but blurt it out.<p>

"So, when you say that Finn never dates do you mean never _ever_?" She says faux- casually, to which Blaine simply knits his brow in confusion.

"Well I wouldn't know, we're not really as close as we used to be," Blaine replies. "Why the sudden interest in Finn anyway?"

She simply shrugs.

"Wait a second, do you have a thing for Finn?" Blaine says as if he can't believe his own words.

"No," she lies. "But would it be such a bad thing if I did?"

"No, it wouldn't be a bad thing, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"I just feel like you shouldn't expect things to go favorably," Blaine says. "I know that he has a good heart, but he keeps it so guarded, getting in may be harder then you think."

"That's the thing Blaine, I think that he might have feelings for me," She says.

"Really? How do you figure?"

"Well at first I thought he was just trying to do the right thing, letting me stay over, but then he kept letting me stay, it's like he likes having me around. And when I was sick last week he was so sweet, he actually took care of me, he brought me soup and a humidifier and he stayed with me the whole day."

"Are we talking about the same Finn Hudson?" Blaine says.

"Also, he told our neighbor Santana that he thought I was hot, or at least Santana said he did."

"Wow," Blaine says. "That's really great to hear," he continues, but she can't help but think something in his voice sounds a little skeptical. And it's true that she has her doubts too, sure he's been nice to her, but there has never seemed to be any ulterior motive to his kindness, he's never made a move, not even when she commented on his looks, and he still barely talks when they're together, and he acts as if every kind gesture is simply the thing to do, as if he doesn't expect or even want anything in return. Maybe he's just so defeated that he simply lets things happen to him at this point, like her invading his space. Maybe Blaine is right about Finn, but she won't know for sure unless she asks him herself.

"Okay, I think I'm going to get going," Rachel says, leaving him with a hug and a light kiss on the cheek.

* * *

><p>She knocks on his door before she even bothers going to her place and changing, he answers and that sweet, nervous smile reaches his face again.<p>

"Hi Finn," she says brightly.

"Hey," he replies. "You look a lot better."

"I feel better," she says, entering his apartment. "Thank you for helping me out that day."

"So, how are you sleeping?" He continues. "You haven't been over in a couple of days."

"I just wanted to give you your space while I recovered, I know you said you had a flu shot but I didn't want to take any risks, you know, anymore."

"Well, I wanted to come check on you yesterday but I was in the city all day looking for antique car parts."

"I didn't realize you had a car," she says, hoping to keep the small talk going a bit longer.

"I don't but my stepdad Burt has been trying to restore this old Firebird for like six years, so he asked me to go with him... well, forced is more like it."

"That's nice of you," She says.

"You know it's actually good that you came by, we stopped at this pawn shop so I could look at the brass instruments and I found this," he goes into his drawer then and pulls out a small white cardboard box. "I'm guessing the police report you filed didn't carry very far otherwise they would have called you when he pawned it."

She furrows her brow, wondering what he means by that as he hands her the box. "Wait, is this for me?"

"Yeah, it is. But, you know, it's not a gift or anything, I mean it was already yours," he says even more cryptically. "It was really just a dumb luck sort of thing that I found it."

She opens the box at that point and her breath catches in her throat at the sight of what's inside, she can't believe it, she can't believe he would do this.

"It's it's my..." she starts, her voice breaking.

"I'm pretty sure it's the same one," he says casually. "The guy at the shop says he brought it in the day after you were mugged so I just put two and two together."

"Finn, I can't believe you would do this," she says, tears in her throat as she lifts her gold New York necklace out of the box, the one she thought she had lost forever. "I don't even know what to say."

"It's really not a big deal," he says seeming a little uncomfortable at her outpouring of emotion. "It wasn't that much I mean-"

"Why do you do that?" she interrupts, slightly annoyed.

"Do what?" he says evasively.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Finn," she says raising her voice a little. "You always do something really sweet and nice and then you act like it's no big deal, why?"

"Because it isn't," he says. "Anyone would have done it."

"No, no they wouldn't have that's the point," and she's getting angrier by the moment because she can't help it, because can't he understand what he's doing to her? "Don't you get it Finn?"

"Get what?"

"Do you even realize how I feel about you?" She's not sure what possesses her to say it right then and there, but once she does she knows how absolutely true it is, she has feelings for him, and they're not going away.

"Rachel I-

"Finn please let me get this out," she says a little more calmly now, ready to put it all out there, even if he refuses to listen, she'll make him listen. "I think about you sometimes, I do, I think about you and not in a friendly way, and I just need to know right now before we keep doing whatever it is that we're doing that you think about me too, that that's the reason you keep letting me sleep on your couch and pick out the movies we watch and took care of me when I was sick and bought me this necklace. I need to know that you did these things because you feel something for me too."

She stands there, waiting for his answer but judging by his face she knows that she won't get the answer she wants.

"Rachel, I'm sorry, I was just trying to be nice I guess," he says. "I just, I don't, I don't want any of this. I'm, I'm sorry." his voice is soft, almost silent.

She can't believe that actual tears are beginning to spring to her eyes, but she can't stop them at this point. "You know, I think I'll sleep at home from now on. I'm not scared anymore. I haven't been for awhile actually. Thank you for the necklace, it really means a lot." she turns on her heel and starts out the door, not wanting him to see her cry, not over him.

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	9. Opening Up

**So this chapter was originally going to be the second half of the last chapter, but I thought it worked better to split them up. Hope you enjoy.  
><strong>

_You won't miss her Hudson, you won't miss her baking, or her pretty smile or her relentless cheerfulness, or her voice... well maybe her voice, and besides, it's not like you can't still hear her singing from next door, and I'm sure when she said she would be sleeping in her place from now on she didn't really mean forever, did she? It doesn't matter because it's better for her to realize now that you can never give her what she wants. A girl like that likes to be romanced, taken out on the town, they like to talk about things and you don't like to talk about anything, they like men who aren't missing parts. Why me anyway? Why can't she see that I'm not this guy? I can't be what she needs even if I wanted to be. Do I want to be? No, of course not. Well maybe I do a little but that doesn't matter, I can't. I can't do this, this is all too much._

This war with himself goes on for what feels like a lifetime as he stands at his door, his forehead pressed to it, his hand on the knob, debating whether to go after her or not. She cried, he can't believe that she would cry over him, what about him was worth crying about anyway? Still, seeing her cry like that did something to him that he can't explain, and part of him just wants to hug her and tell her he's sorry and that he'll do anything she wants him to do if it would make her not be sad. He twists the knob a little, but stops just as quickly, thinking how stupid it is to even consider going over there after leading her on like that, but he didn't mean to. He didn't do those things for her to make her feel something for him, he did them because he wanted her to be happy, but why? He wasn't some sort of pathological people pleaser or anything, most of the things he did for others was to stop their complaining, but it was different with Rachel somehow, and he couldn't figure out why. All he could think of when he saw that necklace in the pawn shop was her smile when she saw it again and how much he likes her smile and how much it bothers him to see her crying, or sick or afraid. _Oh crap_, he thinks to himself as it dawns on him. Maybe it was a big deal after all.

Finally he twists the knob, ready to apologize, ready to somehow obtain the nerve to talk to Rachel. He's not sure what he's going to say, he just knows that the Rachel shaped groove in his couch is starting to go away, and he's grown a bit too accustomed to it to let that happen. He yanks open the door, but stops short at the sight of the tiny, angry brunette standing in the hallway, her hand raised as if she was about to knock.

"Rachel I'm-

"Don't," she says forcefully, angrily. "I don't want to hear a single word out of you that isn't an exceedingly thoughtful explanation for blowing me off Finn Hudson."

He has one, several actually, the most immediate being that Rachel suddenly coming into his life just isn't the kind of thing that he usually lets happen, and the very idea of her wanting to be with him is a notion he can't wrap his mind around, but he doesn't offer those words.

"I'm waiting," she says firmly.

"I don't want you to stay away," he finally says under his breath. It's not what she asked for, but it's what he needs to say.

"Excuse me?" she says.

"I like it when you're here," he explains hesitantly. "Everything just feels... happier, not so lonely."

Her face softens at the words, but he can tell that she still has plenty more to say.

"Are you kidding me right now?" she says snappishly, obviously frustrated. He can't blame her. "Just five minutes ago you told me that you were just being nice, now this, what am I supposed to think Finn?"

He sighs, trying to find the words. "I'm not this guy Rachel. Not anymore," he says after a moment. and she meets his gaze, and he wonders if she sees the conflict on his face.

"I used to be, you know before but... I just..." he continues. "I'm not the same person I used to be, I'm not the guy who can just..."

"What are you trying to say Finn?" she asks hesitantly.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I do, I do think about you like that. Because you know your voice is so pretty, I mean at least it is through the wall, and you know, you are as well and for some bizarre reason you keep talking to me, and nobody has ever talked to me the way you do, like I don't have to prove anything to you, like I can just be who I am and that's okay. And that freaks me out sometimes..." he says, his voice so hesitant. "It freaks me out because I do feel _that way_ about you, I just, I just don't know what to do about that Rachel. I don't know how to be what you need."

Her face softens at that point and he wishes he knew what was on her mind as she silently steps inside of his apartment, closing the door behind her. She walks up to him then, tentatively, as if trying to avoid frightening him, until she's right up against him, she can probably feel him tense up at the closeness, but she doesn't back away and he knows that he needs to get it together, he needs to be okay with her being so close, because in spite of his hesitation he wants her there.

"You can kiss me," she says softly. "That's what you can do about it."

"Rachel, I can't just..."

"Finn I know, about Quinn, Blaine told me," she says touching the front of his shirt, he's going to kill Blaine, but he can't think about that right now. "I know that you've been hurt, and I don't know who you were before that happened, but I know that the man I'm looking at now is wonderful, and he doesn't even realize it... and I really want him to kiss me."

"But I-

"Finn please stop talking and kiss me," she says.

And he's so nervous, more nervous than she's probably ever seen him, and that's saying a lot, but slowly his hand comes up to touch her hair, softly, shaking ever so slightly and it's so soft, how did he not realize how soft it was. And before long his lips touch her forehead first, easing himself into it.

"What about my leg?" he whispers, his nose touching her forehead. "It doesn't creep you out?"

"Nothing about you could ever creep me out Finn," she says softly. He brings his other hand up and cups her face, kissing her forehead again and his lips move down and he hopes she can't feel his unsteady, nervous breathing as he softly kisses the bridge of her nose and her cheek, and his heart jumps at the feel of her skin beneath his light, careful kisses, but she needs more, she needs his lips on hers, so she makes the leap, capturing his mouth and holding him around his waist, bringing him closer, and god her lips are the most amazing things he's ever tasted, even better than her banana bread. And he relaxes after awhile, letting her kiss him and kissing her back, deepening it with each passing moment, and he hopes she can't tell how long it's been since he's been kissed.

"Wow," she sighs against his mouth as she comes up for air. "You're really good at that." she continues, and he can't help but smile because she sounds like she means it.

"Rachel," he breathes, moving away. "It _was_ me singing that night," he doesn't know why he says it, he knows it's probably unnecessary, but if he's wants to keep kissing her, and he kind of really does, then he'll probably need to start opening up, even if it's just with little things like that.

And she just smiles at him, understanding him, "Thank you for telling me the truth Finn."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	10. The Boyfriend Thing

**Here's the new chapter, I hope you like it, and after, check out my other currently running story, with any luck it will be my most epic one yet.**

To tell the truth, not much changes after kissing Finn, she still comes over after work, she talks about her day and he listens, they watch movies together and eat sweets together. The only change is the kissing, there's so much kissing, long, deep kisses that set her body on fire and make her heart pound and make her wonder how the hell he kept those lips to himself for so long. He sings more too, his voice usually so quiet she has to get right up close, which she doesn't exactly mind, and she sings for him too, getting much satisfaction at the smile that graces his face at the sound of her voice. She still sleeps over, but in his bed as opposed to the couch. He's nervous about that at first, he can't sleep with his prosthetic on and he doesn't want her to see him without it. She keeps her head turned until he's under the covers and joins him, snuggling into his side and falling asleep on his chest as he weaves his fingers through her hair. She loves those moments together, being so close to him, but she wants more. She wants to go on dates, she wants him to come to open mic, she wants to be a couple with him, and in spite of the kissing she can't help but worry that he doesn't want to be a couple with her.

She decides that morning to confront him about it, albeit gently. There's a bring five event coming up at Pete's and she only needs one more person to come in order to perform. Blaine's off that night and agreed to come support her instead of singing, Santana and Brittany also agreed to come, and Blaine roped Kurt into it, if she can get Finn then she'll have a date and a performance spot. She just needs to convince him to go somehow.

"So..." she starts as they sit down for breakfast. "There's this event coming up at Pete's, it's like an open mic night only you bring five people along with you to see you perform. And I thought that maybe you could be one of my five people."

He sets down his coffee mug and knits his brow in contemplation. "I'd really love to Rachel, but I'm busy that night."

"I didn't tell you which night it is Finn," she says.

"What night is it?"

"The 17th."

"Yeah, I'm busy that night."

She shakes her head disappointedly, she really thought that she was getting somewhere with him, she must've thought wrong.

"Okay Finn, what's going on with you? Tell me the truth."

"There's nothing going on," he says unconvincingly.

"How come you never want to come out with me? Every time I ask you you make up some excuse," she says, frustrated. "I mean, do you even want to be with me or did you agree to this thing so you wouldn't cause problems."

"No, that's not it," he argues. "I love being with you."

"Then why is it so hard for you to just be with me?"

She's not sure how to describe his face at that moment, it looks guilty, or sad, and she wishes she knew why.

"Look, it's fine. I'm sure I can find someone else," she continues, her disappointment mounting with each passing moment. "I have to go to work."

"Are you going to be over after?" he says, an odd sort of desperation in his voice.

"I don't know, maybe," she says heading for the door and leaving without another word.

* * *

><p>Luckily they let her slide on the five person minimum since she's an employee, but she arrives there thinking she really needs to make more friends. Especially since she hasn't been to Finn's in three days. She'll talk it out with him sooner or later but right now she can barely stand to look at him.<p>

"So, why the long ass face Berry?" Santana says, sitting down next to her Kurt, Blaine and Brittany, a drink in hand. "It's not stage fright is it? Because if it is you better get over that shit, I don't put up with your screeching next door at all hours for you to chicken out now."

"No, it's just guy trouble," she sighs.

"Yeah, wouldn't know anything about that," Santana replies.

"She really doesn't, this guy at the club where we work suggested a three-way one time and she choked him," Brittany says.

"Yeah, too bad he got an erection while I was doing it, he totally misunderstood what I was getting at," Santana adds.

"Is it Finn?" Kurt deduces, getting back to the subject.

"Well, I didn't want to say anything, but things between me and Finn have sort of intensified over the last few weeks, however..."

"He never wants to come out with you, right?" Blaine says, finishing her sentence.

She gives him a look, and notices the sympathetic look on his face.

"Well, yes actually," Rachel says.

"Oh god, I really hoped that having a girl in his life might force him out of his shell a little," Kurt says dejectedly. "I mean don't get me wrong, he's definitely better than he was when he first got home, those first few months he wouldn't leave the house at all."

"Wait, Kurt, what do you mean?"

"I mean Finn is-

"H-hey, sorry I'm late guys." Rachel looks up at the source of the voice, and she can't believe her eyes, it's him.

"Finn?" she beams getting up from her chair and throwing her arms around him, noticing the way his body tenses. "You came?" It's the first time she's seen him outside of his typical loungewear, and boy does he look good, rugged and sexy in his black v-neck shirt, leather jacket, jeans and a gray cap pulled down over his messy mop of hair.

"Yeah, that thing I had to do ended early so here I am." She can't help but notice that he looks tense for some reason, rattled, and as happy as she is to see him here she wonders what's wrong.

"Are you okay Finn?" she says reaching for his hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he squeaks, looking anything but.

"Okay," she says giving him a warm smile. "Come on sit down with us, they're going to start once everyone else gets here."

"There are more people coming?" he says frantically, looking around the room as if a bomb just went off.

"Um yeah," Rachel says, confused. "Finn are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm great," he says, forcing a smile and squeezing her hand. "You look really pretty tonight Rachel."

She smiles back at him in gratitude, she really does adore him, she just wishes he looked happier to be here.

"Finn why don't you have something to drink, it'll calm you down," Kurt says, at that he snaps his fingers, getting the attention of the cocktail server.

"So Finn, how are things?" Blaine says carefully.

"Things are good," he replies his voice shaky. "It's good seeing you again, I know it's been awhile."

"It's been way too long, you should come out with us more often buddy, everyone misses you."

"I've missed you guys too it's just-

He doesn't finish his sentence as he is interrupted by a man with a bass guitar accidentally stumbling into him. That's it, he's done.

"Oh god, I can't do this," Finn gasps, shaking almost violently, his eyes squeezed shut in anxiety.

"Finn, what's wrong?" Rachel says.

"I can't do this!" he says, scrambling up, knocking over his chair in the process. She gets up to go after him, but he's out of the building so fast that she can't catch up, not through all of these people.

"Kurt what happened? Is he okay?" Rachel says frantically, worried.

"It's what I was trying to tell you," Kurt replies. "Finn has this problem with crowds, ever since Afghanistan, every time he feels like he's not in control of his surroundings he just freaks out."

Her heart sinks at Kurt's words, it explains so much. "Oh my god, I feel awful," she says rubbing her forehead in shame. "I was so mad at him before."

"Look I know this is a lot to hear," Kurt says. "But he really is so much better than he was, just the fact that he came here at all..."

"I have to go find him," Rachel says starting for the exit.

"Look Rachel," Kurt says, stopping her. "Please don't let this ruin things between the two of you. You just have to be patient with him, he's worth it, trust me."

"I know Kurt," she says squeezing his arm. "I know he is."

She leaves the bar and finds him sitting against against the wall, his knees brought up to his chest, his hat clutched in his hand, he's breathing hard and shaking and she thinks he might be crying.

"Finn?" she says, rushing up to him. She squats in front of him, placing a hand on his knee. "Finn, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry Rachel," he sobs. "I'm so sorry I just... I thought I could... I'm sorry."

"Finn, Kurt told me, he told me everything," she says, touching his hair, trying to get him to look at her. "I didn't know, I shouldn't have asked you to come here."

"I wanted to come," he says. "I wanted to see you sing, I just... I couldn't do it Rachel, I'm sorry, I tried, I really did."

"Finn, no, shh," she says still stroking his hair. "It's okay, you don't have to be sorry." She shifts her body to sit next to him and pulls him into her embrace, letting him rest his head on her chest as he cries, and she rubs his back and murmurs softly into his hair, her lips touching his head. "It means so much to me that you came in spite of everything."

"It's okay Rachel," he says after awhile.

"What's okay?"

"If you want to break up with me, I understand, it's okay. I won't hate you."

His words shatter her, he just sounds so miserable saying them, like he wants so badly to hold on but knows that it's not only up to him.

"Finn, has anyone ever told you that you're an idiot?" she says playfully.

"Yes, all the time," he replies, his voice serious.

"I'm sorry, but you're not getting rid of me that easily," she continues. "Come on, let's go home."

"But what about the show?"

"They have these things every month, I'll go next time." and she closes the distance between them, lowering her mouth onto his in a long, tender kiss, wiping away his tears with her thumbs as she kisses him.

"Come on," she says as they both stand up. She takes his hand and pulls his arm around her as they walk home together.

* * *

><p>She knows that he wants to make it up to her, which is probably why he attacks her as soon as they get into the apartment, kissing her with more confidence and urgency than she's ever seen from him before. She doesn't protest, not even as he backs her up into his room and lowers her onto the bed. The truth is she's wanted this for awhile, she's just never known how to feel about initiating it. She would have eventually, but right now she can't explain just how happy she is that she doesn't have to.<p>

"I'm sorry, I know I'm not very good at this," he says, breaking the kiss.

"What? Sex?" She says confusedly.

"No, I'm good at _that_," he clarifies. "Last time I checked anyway," he continues. "I meant the boyfriend thing."

"Does that mean you're my boyfriend?" she says. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Yeah," he says softly, nodding his head, and he kisses her again, her mouth and her neck, stopping only to let her remove his shirt and she sighs softly as he unbuttons hers and she gets to work on his pants.

"Wait," he says, moving her hand away from his belt, and he sits up at that point, making her miss the contact immediately.

"Finn, is everything alright?" she says sitting up next to him.

He doesn't respond, he simply sighs a little and unbuckles his own belt, removing his pants quickly, as if ripping off a bandaid. And he begins to undo the fasteners on his prosthesis until it falls away with a thud. She had to admit the image of his missing leg is jarring, but she loves him too much to let it bother her... and just then it dawns on her, she loves him, she's never loved a man before, but she loves this one, she truly does.

"Can I touch it?" she says gently, and he nods, and slowly she reaches out to place her hand on the space right beneath his knee where his leg ends, and he puts his hand over hers. "Lay down Finn." he does, hesitantly, and she straddles his lap and stares down at his bare chest, her fingers trace the scars that decorate his body, letting him know how beautiful she thinks he is without words, and before long she lowers her body onto his, capturing his mouth in hers and letting him run his hands up and down the length of her body, letting out a small sigh when his hand reaches her breast.

"Take my bra off Finn," she sighs into his mouth. He obliges, pulling off her shirt first and reaching for the back of her bra next, getting it off in one try with those agile hands of his. She sits up on his lap, letting him see her, feeling a bit proud when he hardens under her. He reaches for her breasts, cupping them in his hands and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. Her heart begins to race and she feels that achy, tingly, moist feeling between her legs that lets her know she's ready, that she's been ready for weeks now. She kisses him again and wraps her arms around his shoulders, rolling over and pulling his body on top of hers. They stay like that for awhile, kissing each other everywhere their mouths can reach. But she needs more than his mouth.

she gasps a little as his hand makes its way under her skirt, moving the damp material aside and curving his fingers into her center, readying himself for what's next.

"I brought protection," she gasps into his ear as he touches her. "It's in my bag."

"You did?" he sighs. "Did you know that this would happen?"

"Eventually, yes," she replies, kissing him again before reaching for her bag. She finds it quickly, the crinkly wrapper alerting her to it's location and she pulls it out, opening it with her teeth and reaching down with both hands. He pulls his own boxers down, letting her roll it down onto him.

"I've wanted this for a long time," he says, sitting up and pulling her panties off from under her skirt before once again lowering his body back onto hers, kissing her once again. "But it feels different than I thought it would."

"Is that bad?" she says, a bit worriedly.

"No, it's good. I thought I would be a wreck, but this feels... it feels right. It feels easy." he stammers. "Does it feel right for you too?"

"Being with you always feels right," she says. He doesn't hesitate any longer to bury himself inside of her, making her eyes squeeze shut and her fingers twist into his hair. And as he begins to to rock against her she can't get over just how much she feels. And from the look on his face she can tell that he feels just as much. She wraps her legs around him, digging her heels into his bare ass and pulling him in closer, as close as he can go, if she could she would dissolve into him.

He continues to pump and thrust into her, making her ache and burn with pleasure, until he pushes her over the edge, making her sing in perfect harmony with the sound of his own orgasmic exclamation.

"Oh my god," she says, out of breath as he collapses into her. "I don't care if you never leave the house again, just keep doing that."

"Even still," he pants as he rolls off of her. "I want you to come with me to my mom and my step dad's anniversary party."

"Really, but what about the crowd thing?" she says, repositioning herself against him.

"It's only going to be a few close family and friends, they all know how to be around me," he says it as he's ashamed of it, she wishes he wouldn't be.

"And you want me to come with you?" She says, touched.

"Well, you're my girlfriend right?"

She smiles and kisses him sweetly on the cheek. "Of course I'm your girlfriend."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	11. I Got A City Love

**Okay, I definitely feel like a dick for taking so long to update this. Don't worry, I didn't die or anything, I just neglected to mention to you that I was going away on a job. I had a wonderful time, made a lot of cont****acts that will hopefully help me in my career in the long run, and basically didn't sleep for five days,**** but I'm back now, along with regular updates, so yay!**

_I never liked this apple much_  
><em>It always seemed too big to touch<em>  
><em>I can't remember how I found<em>  
><em>My way before she came around<em>

_I tell everyone_  
><em>I smile just because<em>  
><em>I've got a city love<em>  
><em>I found it in Lydia<em>  
><em>And I can't remember life before her name<em>

_She keeps a toothbrush at my place_  
><em>As if I had the extra space<em>  
><em>She steals my clothes to wear to work<em>  
><em>I know - her hairs are on my shirts<em>

_I tell everyone_  
><em>I smile just because<em>  
><em>I've got a city love<em>  
><em>I found it in Lydia<em>  
><em>And I can't remember life before <em>  
><em>The day<em>  
><em>She called up and came to me<em>  
><em>Covered in rain<em>  
><em>And dinnertime shadowing<em>  
><em>And as her clothes spun, we spooned<em>  
><em>And I knew I was through<em>  
><em>When I said "I love you"<em>

He sings to himself quietly, the smooth melody of the John Mayer song leaving his lips slowly and soulfully. Rachel said she saw the CD and thought of him, adding that he sounds a little like him when he sings in his lower register. He still doesn't understand it, how she can look at him the way she does, sing to him so sweetly, smile at him so affectionately, hold his broken body in her arms like a lover, but he supposes he doesn't need to understand it, it's enough that she's there, as if she always was, as if she was always meant to be there. He hasn't told his parents about her yet, they know that she lives next door to him, and that he fixes things for her, but not about the kissing, or the lovemaking or the boyfriend thing, or the fact that he thinks he might love her. When the idea hit him while she slept in his arms that first night it took him by surprise, it was almost like being reminded of something he had forgotten years ago. But he isn't afraid of it, loving her doesn't feel like something to be afraid of anymore.

He'll tell them tonight, at the anniversary party, he assumes they've already considered it. When you add a plus one for your parents anniversary party it's bound to get them thinking. Everyone already knows not to ambush him with a ton of questions, it will be fine to tell them, or at least he hopes it will. To tell the truth his nerves are pretty much shot, but he knows she'll help him get through it. He considers all of the different ways to word his introduction of Rachel as he cooks scrambled eggs for her on the stove. Taking a break from his singing to practice the different options.

_"Mom, Burt, everyone, this is my girlfriend Rachel."_

_"Hi, have you met my girlfriend Rachel?"_

_"This is Rachel, she's my girlfriend."_

"I like the first one ," She says sleepily, joining him in the kitchen, a smile reaching his lips at the sound of her voice, and moreso when she wraps her arms around his waist and kisses the back of his neck, the sweet way she greets him every morning. He takes his free hand and grabs her small one, continuing to stir the eggs in the skillet.

"Good morning," he says softly.

"Good morning," she replies. "Did you sleep well?"

"Always."

"Me too, I love your bed, it's like sleeping on a big marshmallow."

"Yeah, that's what the mattress guy said," he jokes.

He feels her smile as she buries her face in his back, and he shuts off the cooked eggs and turns around in her arms to face her, cupping her cheek in his hand and kissing her lightly. But she won't have it, she grabs him tighter around his waist and deepens the kiss, exploring every detail of his mouth with her soft tongue and making him lose his breath.

"I found the perfect outfit for the party, she whispers into his mouth, I can't wait for you to see it."

"I'm a little nervous," he admits.

"Why, are you afraid they won't like me?" she says teasingly.

"They'll love you," he replies. "It's me that I'm worried about."

"You're going to be just fine," she says comfortingly, "Do you know how I know?"

"How?"

"Because I believe in you, in every way," she says kissing him again.

"Thank you," he says warmly, and he kisses her again. "Hey, I wanted to show you something."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Come on," he, grabs her hand and leads her through his living room and to the fire escape. "I left it out here to dry," he continues as they move to the fire escape and he pulls the tarp off of his project.

"Oh my god... Finn," she says, clearly impressed. It's his best work yet and he knows it, but the look on her face still fills his chest with pride. "It's so beautiful," she continues, running her hand over the smooth lacquered surface of the standing bass. "And blue."

"Yeah, Doug from the hardware store is buying it for his daughter, this is like one of six instruments that she plays, and she loves blue."

"She's going to absolutely love it," Rachel beams. "What is he paying you?"

"500," Finn responds.

"That's it? For a work of art like this?" she says sincerely. "It's worth so much more than that."

"I know but Doug is a friend, plus he has something I want, this was the best way to get it."

"Well I hope you do," she says. "Can you imagine her face when she sees this? It's like if my dads had bought me that pink piano I wanted when I was a little girl, maybe that's why I never learned to play like an expert, I never had my pink piano."

"Well, maybe one day you will," he says softly.

"Until then there's always my Casio," she says, shrugging as they reenter the living room. He piles eggs onto his plate and toaster waffles with vegetarian bacon that looks like fruit rollups on hers and takes a seat across from her.

"Ooh, chocolate chip, my favorite," she beams like a child as she pours syrup over them.

"Mine too," he agrees. They eat in blissful, comfortable silence as always, stealing glances and sharing soft smiles throughout, their morning routine that has become so familiar and safe.

"I absolutely hate to eat and run..." she says as she finishes.

"You're leaving?" he says.

"I just have some things to take care of in town," she says walking past him, but not before he can gently grab her wrist and pull her down onto his lap, stealing one last kiss before she goes.

"God you're so needy," she teases, murmuring into his mouth as she kisses him.

"I'm not needy," he argues, pulling her closer.

"Yeah yeah," she continues kissing him again, her lips moving down over his chin and his neck and ever lower as she begins to undo his pants.

"What are you doing?" he whispers as she reaches in, shivering a little at the feel of her hand wrapping around him.

"Just a little parting gift for my lovely host," she says as she lowers herself in front of him, staring into his eyes in that way that makes him instantly, painfully hard. He braces himself as she touches her lips to the tip, her sultry brown eyes burning into him as she lowers her mouth onto him, wrapping her full luscious lips around his throbbing cock.

"Jesus, Rachel" he chokes out as she teases and taunts him with her mouth, moving up and down with an odd sort of grace, making his heart pound violently in his chest and his entire body tremor and tingle. He reaches for her soft hair, weaving his fingers through it with one hand while his pulls his own with his other hand, slowly going crazy as she bobs up and down, not slowing or stopping, refusing to free him from the beautiful torture until he comes. He feels his bones have left him as she finishes, and he collapses onto her, kissing her hair and stroking it gently. "If that was to make me less needy then..." he starts, panting, unable to form more words.

She simply giggles and kisses him, letting him taste himself on her mouth.

"Okay, I have to go, really," she says, standing up and leaving him with just a coy smile and that intense yearning that always fills his heart when she goes away.

* * *

><p>His smile remains into the day when he collects his payment from Doug, when he buys groceries and now as he folds his clothes in the laundry room. He's still nervous about the party, but it's almost a good sort of nervous, which he hasn't felt in far too long. It's official, nothing can ruin his day.<p>

"Oh, um, hi... hi Finn."

he turns his head at the sound of her small voice and his heart nearly stops, it's the first time he's seen her up close in almost a year. She's just as beautiful, and she looks just as guilty as she did the night of the christening. Well, almost nothing could ruin his day.

"What are you doing here?" he says as Quinn begins to fold her own clothes next to him.

"My dryer is on the fritz," she explains. "Puck gave me the keys to the laundry room."

He simply nods, understanding.

"So, how are you?" She says nervously.

"I'm great," he replies, traces of spite still in his voice. "I'm actually seeing someone."

"Really," she says, clearly trying not to sound surprised and not entirely succeeding. "That's great, I'm so happy for you."

"How are things with Puckerman?" He says bitterly.

"He wants me and Beth to move in," she explains, "You know, so he can be closer to her. But I couldn't do that, this neighborhood is no place for a child to grow up."

"I grew up here," he argues. "So did you."

"Yeah, and look at how I turned out, look at what my life has become," she replies. "All I do is screw things up, it's like I have this pathological need to be unhappy."

"Are you still talking about Puck?"

"I still don't understand it," she says. "I know I can do better, hell, I have done better," she says, giving him an implicit look. "It's just, he's such a good father to Beth, it's so easy to overlook how horrible he is for me... and oh my god, I can't believe I'm talking to you about this, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he says, shrugging, it really is, he has Rachel now, and he knows that it would be just plain stupid to still be hurt by anything happening in Quinn's world.

"Even still, I shouldn't be putting this on you, I-"

"Do you want the truth?" he says, cutting her off.

"Yes, I deserve it after all this time," she says, almost desprately.

"If you really love Puck, and I think you do, then you need to stop trying to change him," Finn explains. "It's all you ever did with me."

"Wha... I didn't, I mean I..."

"Remember high school? Remember prom?" he says, cutting in once more.

"Of course, we were prom king and Queen," she says fondly.

"Yeah, and I bet that's all you can remember isn't it?" he says bitterly. "Not the way I held you on the dance floor, or how I told you I loved you, or the last song we danced to."

"How could I possibly remember-

"It was_ I Don't Wanna Know_ by Fleetwood Mac," he interrupts once again. "I requested it especially for you, and everyone talked about how lame it was but I didn't care because it was our song, but none of that mattered to you, all that mattered to you was that damn crown," he realizes now that his voice is breaking, and he hates that she still has that effect on him. "You would have done anything for it, you even stopped me from going out for the school musical because you thought it would make me look bad. So I didn't try out, because all I wanted was to make you happy. Why was that never enough for you? Why was _I_ never enough for you?" Her eyes are misting over too, he notices.

"Finn I never meant to be that way, I guess just wanted so badly for us to be something that we weren't, that perfect couple."

"There's no such thing as a perfect couple Quinn," Finn says. "All couples have problems and you either decide that it's worth overcoming them or that it isn't, you don't sleep with someone else."

"I know, I know," she says, crying harder. "I was just so stupid and alone and he was just there."

"And I wasn't. I strayed from the plan, we were supposed to go to college together I know, and when that didn't happen..."

"I screwed everything up," she admits. "But Finn there's a world of difference between what happened between us and what Puck is doing."

"Puck is trying to provide for your daughter, if you want him to stop then you need to reason with him, give him time to find a new job, just show him that you want him to stop because you care about him and you don't want him to get hurt."

"I do, I do care about him," she says tearfully. "But Finn you can't believe that I didn't care about you too."

"It doesn't matter," he says, shaking it off. "We've moved on. You love Puck and I love Rachel."

"Wait, you do?" Quinn says, a smile on her lips. "You love someone?"

"Yeah," he says, fondly. "I do," at that he finishes the last piece of his clothing and places it on top of the hamper. "See you around Quinn."

"Where are you going?" She calls after him.

"To get a haircut."

* * *

><p>He fidgets nervously at her door in his nice suit, touching his newly naked face, feeling the long scar decorating his chin. He wonders what she'll think, whether she'll like it, he thinks he will, although it feels strange to him he's sure he'll get used to it again.<p>

Finally she opens the door, and his breath is instantly knocked out of him, she really does look gorgeous, her hair loose and flowing, her full lips painted a soft crimson, her flowy pale pink dress showing off her amazing legs, but the best part is her look of thrilled surprise.

"Finn, your face," she says, beaming as she touches his smooth cheek. "I can see your face."

"What do you think?" he says nervously.

"It's beautiful," she says sincerely and sweetly. "But what made you do it?"

He leans in to kiss her once, then draws away. "I just realized that I don't want to hide from you anymore. I don't want to hide from anyone."

"I don't want you to hide either," she says.

"Good, because I wanted to tell you something before we go."

"Oh yeah," she says. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Rachel," he says nervously. "I'm in love with you."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	12. Anniversary

She's stunned, shocked, absolutely speechless. For the first time in 25 years she has absolutely no idea what to say, because here he is, the man she loves stading in front of her, telling her he loves her too, and she can see his face and it's such a good face, about the best one she's ever seen, and she can't believe how much things have changed in so little time. A little over a month ago she was all alone in a new city, with no friends and no idea what she was doing, now she has someone who loves her. Nobody has ever loved her before. "You..."

"I love you," he repeats, more confidently, and it sounds just as strange to her ear the second time. "Please say something." he continues after a few moments, something a bit desperate in his voice.

But there's nothing she can say, because the lump in her throat is blocking any words and the tears in her eyes are ruining her focus.

"Whoa, whoa, hey," Finn says frantically, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Are you sad? I mean, If it makes you sad then I didn't mean it, I take it back."

"No," she finally manages to choke out, grabbing him by the lapels on his jacket, steadying herself. "I don't want you to take it back."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because Finn, you're just, you're so..." she doesn't finish, she just collapses into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him close, not wanting to let him go, the flowers she's holding in her hand rustling as she holds him. "You're just so amazing. How do you not realize how amazing you are?"

"Does that mean you love me too?" he says tentatively, holding her and running a hand over her hair.

"It means I love you endlessly," she cries.

"God," he says, getting choked up himself. "That's so nice to hear. I mean, you have no idea."

She backs up a little looking into his strikingly handsome face, a soft smile gracing her features. "Come on Finn, we're going to be late."

"Wait a second," he says. Taking a kleenex off of the little table by his door and cleaning the tears and the streaked mascara off of her face. "There, beautiful."

* * *

><p>They arrive arm and arm at the apartment, and Rachel can't help but think that she feels like part of a real couple for once, a real couple with a man who loves her. He loves her, and she loves him, it's still something that's going to take some getting used to. She's just not used to being this genuinely happy. She can see the look of apprehension on his face as he knocks, and she knows what he must be feeling. As hard as it was just to let her into his life, telling her he loved her, and now introducing her to his family must have been genuinely terrifying. A bald, older man with a kind face opens the door for them and she shoots him a warm smile, but she can't help but notice that there's a bit of sadness behind the smile he gives back to her and she can't help but wonder why.<p>

"Hi," she says brightly, hugging him without hesitation. "You must be Burt," she continues, going by Finn's description of him. "These are for you and your wife." At that she hands him the bouquet of lilies and box of fresh baked cookies she brought for the occasion.

"Well thank you, you must be Rachel," Burt says as she enters with Finn.

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend," Finn adds adorably, smiling nervously.

"Girlfriend huh?" Burt says. "Good job buddy."

"Did I hear girlfriend?" at that a pleasant looking blonde woman with a big smile comes up to Burt's side, clearly Finn's mother Carole, and Rachel wraps her in a big hug too.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Mrs. Hudson-Hummel," Rachel says. "I've heard so many wonderful things."

"Oh sweetheart, she's darling," Carole says, hugging Rachel back. "And look at how tiny, you can carry her in one hand can't you?"

"Congratulations Mrs. Hudson-Hummel, ten years, that's really incredible," she says.

"Please Honey, call me Carole," She insists and the sadness is present on her face too, she wants to ask what's wrong, but this is supposed to be a happy time, and she barely knows these people. The last thing she wants is to make things awkward.

"And you can call me Burt," Burt adds. "Come on, I'll introduce you around, he continues, placing a hand on her back and leading her into the good sized room, it's much bigger than her own apartment, and easily accommodates the ten or so people in the room, Kurt Blaine, and some other faces she doesn't recognize.

"Finn honey, can you hang back a second, I wanted to talk to you," Carole says, and Rachel thinks she must want to talk to him about the reason for her thinly veiled sadness.

"Why hello Ms. Berry," Kurt says, kissing Rachel on either cheek as she joins the party.

"Hi Kurt, how are you?"

"I'm great," Kurt says. "Now are my eyes playing tricks on me or did Finn shave for this?"

"I know right," Rachel says giddily. "He's very handsome isn't he?"

"I have to say Rachel, I'm impressed," Blaine says. "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time."

"Yeah, I really want to thank you for everything you've done for him," Burt adds.

"I didn't really do anything," she says sheepishly.

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Kurt says, "I feel like I'm starting to get my brother back."

The declaration warms her heart and she can't help but feel a bit proud.

"Anyway, let me introduce you to everyone, this is our cousin Rory, he moved here from Ireland two years ago," Kurt says. gesturing toward a pale young man with a sweet face and piercing blue eyes.

"Good to meet you Rachel," The young man says in a thick accent, extending her hand for him to shake.

"It's lovely to meet you too Rory," Rachel says.

"Oh and this is Rory's girlfriend Sugar," Kurt continues.

"Uh uh Kurt, that's Rory's Fiancee to you," A pretty, Mediterranean looking blonde says, holding up a diamond on her finger.

"Shut up!" Kurt says excitedly, "When did that happen?"

"When the INS came knocking last month to tell us that my baby's visa expired," Sugar explains, wrapping an arm around her smiling fiance's shoulders. "And I told them, nobody kicks my little sweet potato out of the country, and I turned to Rory and said, you're marrying me, that's that."

"I would've anyway though, I just love her so dang much," Rory says giving his fiancee a light kiss on the temple.

"You bet your Irish ass you would have," Sugar says. "So the next day he came with a ring, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, either that or he said something about Miami, I still don't understand half of what he says, but either way I said yes."

"I'm really happy for you guys," Blaine says.

"Yeah kid, she's going to make a heck of a wife," Burt agrees. And Rachel can't help but think that they make a totally cute couple.

Burt introduces her to the rest of the guests, Burt and Carole's parents, Finn's aunt and Kurt's uncle, and they're all predictably excited about Finn's new relationship status, and even as Finn continues to talk to his mother in the corner she feels at ease with these people, she feels like they are a family she can stand getting to know, maybe even becoming a part of someday, but she pushes those thoughts away. It's way too soon to be thinking like that... isn't it?

She continues getting to know everyone, sipping wine and and staying at Finn's side as he rejoins the party, she can't help but notice that he doesn't seem any worse off than he was before he stuck behind to talk to his mom, maybe she didn't tell him whatever bad news she was obviously holding on to.

Toward the middle of the night it comes time for toasts and gifts and Burt and Carole seem odd, holding onto each other and forcing weak smiles, she wonders if Finn can tell, she thinks he probably can.

"You can go first," Kurt says when he and Kurt are the last ones left to give their gifts. "I really don't think you want to follow my gift," Finn simply shrugs and limps up to his parents, pulling an envelope out of his pocket and handing it to them.

"Um, I know how much you wanted to go with my mom," Finn stammers. "And I know tickets have been sold out for awhile, but my friend Doug from the hardware store traded me these for a standing bass, so I hope you guys have a great time because, you know you deserve it more than anyone I know."

"You traded your standing bass?" Carole says, touched as she opens the envelope. "Oh my god," she says putting her hand over her chest dramatically, "Oh Finn, are these..."

"Backstage passes, yeah," Finn says.

"You got us fifth row concert tickets and backstage passes to Mellencamp?" Burt says, shocked, looking at the tickets in his wife's hands.

"Close but no cigar," Kurt says quietly, confidently.

"Oh thank you honey," Carole says, misty-eyed as she and Burt both wrap him in a tight hug. At that he returns to Rachel's side and puts an arm around her waist.

"My turn" Kurt says brightly, going up to his parents to hand them another envelope. "Well since you two own the apartment free and clear now, and you're on the top floor I've been thinking about how much potential this place really has, and I thought, for a couple that has been together for so long and are so in love, what could be better than spending night after night snuggling in front of your very own custom fireplace?"

Burt opens the envelope and his face falls a little at the sight of what's inside. "Gee Kurt, this is great, you got us an appointment with..."

"Tony Dewitt One of the best contractors in Williamsburg," Kurt says excitedly. "Everything's paid for, Tony gave me a great deal after I gave his boyfriend a makeover that changed their lives. He'll be here tomorrow for a full consultation."

"Oh honey, that's very sweet," Carole says, starting to cry.

"Wow, I knew you would like it, but tears? I must've done good," Kurt says proudly.

"You did," Carole says tearfully. "You did very good it's just... well since your all here there's something we think we should tell you."

_Oh no, here it comes, _Rachel thinks to herself, and Finn wraps his arm around her tighter, bracing himself for what's next.

"What is it mom?" Finn breathes.

"Um well," she starts, clearly trying to find the words, and as worried as Rachel was before, it's so much worse now, it couldn't involve her could it? She's just meeting them for the first time, but clearly this news was meant for everyone.

She can't finish, her voice too shaky, so Burt steps in his hand gently rubbing his wife's shoulder. "They're tearing down the tower," Burt finally says, finishing for his obviously devastated wife. "We have three months to find a new place to live."

"Goddamn it," Kurt says under his breath. "The bastard did it again."

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	13. Bouncing Back

**Sorry this took so long, especially after the wait last time, but I was sick for a few days and just really didn't feel like writing. BTW for anyone reading A Home At The End Of The World, that should be updated tomorrow.**

"This sucks," Santana says forlornly, stabbing at her midnight pancakes with her fork without taking a bite as they sit around the table in the all but empty diner. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? The tower was the only place in Brooklyn that was within my price range."

"I thought strippers made a lot of money," Kurt says.

"I'm not a stripper," she scoffs. "I dance at a nightclub."

"Maybe you should be a stripper," Kurt offers.

"Maybe you should stop being a jackass" Santana shoots back. "These tatas are only for my girl Britt."

"It's like I said, she doesn't share," Brittany adds.

"I'm just trying to be helpful," Kurt says, shrugging.

"That's enough babe, now's not the time," Blaine says gently.

"Sorry San, I'll try to dial back the snark," Kurt says. "Unfortunate force of habit."

"It's cool," she says, shrugging it off. "I probably had it coming after calling you all princess all those times."

"You know I really tricked myself into believing that I'd finally gotten a break," Rachel finally says, tears in her throat. "All my years of planning and saving, and for what? To get knocked back down before I can even reach the middle. The top just looks so far away from here now."

"Hey, don't give up hope," Blaine says warmly. "You're here, you're a New Yorker now, nobody can take that away from you."

"Except the New York Housing Authority," Rachel says, unmoved. "It's not like I can afford anything else either, unless I go crawling to my dads to pay my rent, and I made such a fuss about wanting to do it on my own and I finally did, and then this happens. It's so unfair."

"I can't believe this is happening," Kurt says sadly. "I mean, I have a lot of fond memories of that place."

"Which is why you left the first chance you got," Santana says sarcastically. "Seriously, why are you even here? You have your precious hipster loft to go home to."

"I'm here for moral support, just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean I don't care," Kurt argues.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be crying rivers over this," Santana spits.

"Lay off him Santana," Blaine says. "He grew up there, his family lives there, of course he's going to be upset."

"And while we're on the subject, why are you here?" Santana carries on. "You never lived there to begin with."

"Duh, he's here for the pancakes," Brittany says.

"Let's just go with that," Blaine says, giving up.

Finn hasn't said a word the whole time, he simply sits there, his elbow on the table, his forehead in his hand, and as the awkward silence ensues all eyes go to him, and Blaine offers his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"How're you holding up buddy?" Blaine says.

He can't bring himself to form words, the truth is he doesn't know what to think right now. The tower has been his only real home for 27 years, and it's not so much the rent problem, although that's definitely something to be considered, the real issue is how scared he found himself at the news. After the army he had no plans to move back there, he and Quinn were going to make a home for themselves someplace new, but after everything that had happened with the baby and his injury, all he really wanted out of life was to be someplace familiar, someplace easy, even if it was technically the worst place in Brooklyn, it was home, it was the only constant in his life, and now it's over, and he, like the rest of them has no idea where to go from here. He doesn't answer Blaine, he can't. Just a few hours ago things seemed to finally be changing for the better, he was opening himself up to change for the first time in years, he had reconnected with friends, gotten some sort of closure with Quinn and he was in love, in actual love with a girl who loved him back, and even though he's still as in love as he was a few hours ago, he can't even take the time to enjoy being in love, not with all of the worry and uncertainty and deep, deep sadness about the whole situation competing with the feelings of affection for the girl sitting right next to him, the girl who seems just as lost as he is. He still doesn't say anything, but as he sees the tears flow from her eyes his hand moves of his own volition, until it's on hers. She gives him a weak smile through her tears and holds his hand back and somehow the simple act of holding Rachel's hand is enough to make things feel a little less terrifying, if only for awhile.

"Look you guys, maybe it's not over," Kurt says, noticing the sad faces of his friends. "What about the town hall meeting tomorrow? Our case is on the agenda, there must be a reason."

"Yeah, to explain to all of us why they're tearing the place down," Santana says. "As if we don't already know, we get it, the tower's a piece of shit, but it's our piece of shit."

"Even still, maybe if enough people come they can sway the board," Blaine says optimistically.

"They've made their decision Blaine," Santana carries on.

"No, Blaine's Right," Rachel says. "We can't accept this, this is our home, we can't just let them cast us out of it."

This is who Rachel is, he knew it from the moment he laid eyes on her, she was a dreamer, a doer, someone who never stopped believing no matter what. Basically the very opposite of him. Even though he knows without a doubt that the Tower will be torn down and they'll be forced to move, he knows that it's not over for her, that she'll never stop trying and picking herself up. If only he could be that strong.

If they could they would stay in that diner all night, avoiding the dejection that they would all feel among going home, even Kurt and Blaine, who's empathy couldn't allow them to feel too good about life right now either. But they all have lives to go back to, so after their coffee runs cold and their pancakes have been picked apart to smithereens, they all go back to their respected homes. Finn and Rachel enter his apartment together, Rachel still in her pink dress from before, and without words they sink into his couch, side by side.

"Are you okay?" Rachel says softly.

"I don't know," he answers, shrugging.

"What did your mother say to you?" she continues, thinking back to the party. "You know, when you hung back to talk to her."

"She didn't say anything about the tower, I guess she wanted me to enjoy the night a little longer. All she said was… well, she thanked me for finally shaving for one," he says, to which Rachel chuckles a bit. And he faces her then, his face serious. "And she told me she was proud of me, you know, because of you."

She lays her head down on his chest and wraps her arms around his middle, letting his shirt soak up her tears. "I'm proud of you too," She says as he holds her back and kisses the top of her head. "Because of _you_." And it's just then with Rachel in his arms that it dawns on him, for the first time since hearing the news about the tower, and maybe even the first time since he broke up with Quinn, he feels clear, and dare say it optimistic. For once in his life he knows exactly what to do, exactly what will make things better, and not just for him, but for the person he loves too. A smile reaches his lips then and he kisses Rachel's head again before closing his eyes and proceeding to sleep off both the best and worst day of his life so far.

* * *

><p>The Meeting is packed, he thinks the entire population of McKinley tower is there, and they look angry, beyond angry.<p>

"What are me and my wife supposed to do now?" Mike Chang from the third floor cries from the audience, his wife Tina by his side. "We're having a baby, this isn't the time for us to be uprooted."

"Well Mr and Mrs. Chang I'm sure if that's the case you wouldn't want your child growing up around the kind of people McKinley tower attracts." Board Member Figgins replies. "There have been three armed muggings in the past month, and the less said about the drug dealing and prostitution that goes on around there the better."

"McKinley Tower is home to many fine, generous, hard working people, is crime a problem? Sometimes, but that's only because this city was perfectly happy to let us exist in its blind spot for so many years, now that you're finally paying attention the only option you see is to tear it down? I call bullshit," Tina shoots back, followed by healthy applause.

"Preach!" Artie Abrams from the first floor exclaims from his wheelchair.

"Listen, the last thing any of us wants is to leave good people without homes," Figgins explains. "But my hands are tied, we've given you ample time to relocate."

"Three months?" Santana shouts. "That's not ample time, that's a fucking joke."

"I think what Ms. Lopez is trying to say is that even if we wanted to move, which none of us do, the idea that we can so easily find housing of equal or better quality at a comparable price in that amount of time is simply too idealistic a notion for most of us to fathom," Rachel says.

"And my husband is the superintendent and he's just now hearing about this," Carole says.

"Yeah, and you must have been planning this for much longer than it took to break it to the people who were actually being affected." Burt adds.

"The New York housing authority has employed a team of advisors that will be willing to offer their residence placement services to any of you that request them, but that truly is all we can do at this time," Figgins says to which the audience breaks out into discordant, angry shouting.

"If you tear down the tower you're screwing all of us," Puckerman chimes in. "The Changs aren't the only ones with kids to worry about."

Finn wants to say something too, he wants to be a fighter like Rachel, but he can't bring himself to, they've made their decision they did it long before any of them got there. They're taking their home, and it breaks his heart.

They carry on like that into the night, until they're all forced to go home, some of them crying, some of them talking about hitting the bar, all of them affectively crushed, and Finn and Rachel walk silently, hand in hand toward their doomed home, stopping at their respective front doors.

"Finn, why didn't you say anything at the meeting," Rachel finally says, breaking the silence.

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Finn says truthfully.

"That's not the point, it's your home, don't you think it's worth fighting for?"

"It's an apartment complex Rachel, my family will still be there even if the tower's not."

She stops then, letting go of his hand and turning to face him. "But I won't be," she says, her voice breaking. "I can't afford to live anywhere else, if the tower closes I'll have to go back home, haven't you thought about for a second?"

"Yeah, and there's other options besides moving back home."

"Yeah, like what?" she spits.

"Like live with me," he blurts out. She goes silent and her eyes go wide then, as if she can't believe what she's hearing, but he couldn't be more serious. He's thought about it, and it's Rachel, she's the one that brought him out of the darkness, and there was no going back now, he can't fight for the tower, but he'll fight for her.

"Live with you?" she repeats.

"You practically do anyway Rachel," he rationalizes. "And with both of us paying rent we can find a better place."

"But Finn, you grew up here, doesn't that mean something to you?"

"Of course it does Rachel, the thought of it closing makes me want to cry." he admits. "But you taught me about bouncing back, and I think I can bounce back from this if you're with me."

She takes his hand again at that point and smiles up at him. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything right now, just sleep on it okay," and he leans in to kiss her softly and she kisses back.

"You know, I think I'll sleep in my own apartment tonight," she says warmly. "If I'm really going to lose it I want to say a proper goodbye you know?" she says tearfully, touching the door, and he thinks the fact that she's letting go means that he's going to get a yes in the morning.

"Okay," he says softly. "I love you Rachel."

"I love you too."

At that they enter their apartments, but he stops short as he does, his blood running cold when he realizes that the only thing left inside is his old couch.

**A bit of an angsty chapter, but don't worry, things will look up for our gang of scrappy New Yorkers.**


	14. Law Of The Land

**Again, sorry for the wait on this, I had to pick up a couple of extra shifts this week, I'm trying to save for a car. If only I could get paid for writing fanfic, amirite? Anyway, second to last chapter before the epilogue folks, enjoy!**

She knows that she's not going to give up without a fight, that's just not Rachel Berry, but it's nice to know that there's a place for her if everything should fall apart, a place for her with him. She sinks into her bed with a big smile on her face as she thinks about it, her and Finn actually living together, the more she thinks about it the more she likes the idea, being with Finn has always felt so easy, even when he tried to make it as hard as possible, she's always felt at home with him and she doesn't want that to end. But her smile falls as she thinks about Brittany, and Santana, and the Changs and Artie and Mr. and Mrs. Hummel and even Puckerman, what's going to happen to them now? She tries not to dwell on it, she knows that people have a way of overcoming the worst, and she hopes that if the tower should close that that is exactly what they'll do. She closes her eyes then, drifting off to sleep as soon as she does, it was a draining day, even if it did end pretty nicely.

She jerks awake as someone knocks on her door, she glances at her clock, it's 7 am, usually she's up by six, she supposes yesterday really was draining.

She gets up to open the door and knits her brow at the sight of Santana Lopez, her face looks angry, livid even.

"Santana, what's wrong?"

"You, me and the giant are going to the law library today," Santana says. "We're going to find a way to keep this place open if it kills us, and not only that, once we save this place I'm going to start an initiative to cut down on crime around here."

"Santana not that I'm not impressed by your passion I have to ask where is this coming from all of a sudden?" Rachel asks. "Yesterday you seemed pretty convinced that there was nothing we could do."

"Yeah, well that was before some scumbags cleaned out four apartments last night while we were at that meeting, they sent over one squad car and he was here for like fifteen minutes. I'm tired of the cops and the city not giving a shit about any of us, we're going to fix this."

"Oh my god," Rachel says. "Did they get you?"

"No, me and Brit were lucky, but they took Artie for all he had."

"Oh no, poor Artie," Rachel says sympathetically. "Okay just let me get dressed, I'll go with you."

"Good, I'm going to wake up your boyfriend."

"Oh no," Rachel says panicked. "Oh god Finn, what if he was one of the people they robbed? I have to go check on him."

She leaves her apartment, not bothering to put on shoes or fix her bedhead and knocks urgently on Finn's door.

"Finn?" Rachel says gently, "Finn are you okay?"

He takes a second to open the door, but once he does she notices that he's left the security chain on, something he hasn't done in weeks.

"Finn, did something happen to you last night?" Rachel says carefully, she can already tell by his face and his hesitance at opening the door that he was one of the four places they robbed, and she looks past him into the apartment, noticing that all of his beautiful work is gone, everything. "Finn, I'm so sorry. I know how much those things meant to you." He doesn't answer, and it's starting to worry her, she knows he's upset, but he's not upset with _her_ is he, she was the one who insisted he go to the meeting after all.

"Finn?" she says again, trying to get a response out of him.

"Listen Hudson, we're going to my college's law library today. We're going to find a loophole that will keep this place open, now I know you're probably not the tower's biggest fan right now but we could really use your help, It's Saturday so there'll barely be anyone there, what do you say?" Santana says firmly.

"It's only if you want to," Rachel says sympathetically. "I know that you're really upset right now and you have a right to be, if you want me to stay with you I can call Kurt and Blaine, I'm sure they'd be happy to go with Santana.

He still hasn't talked, nor has he removed the chain from the door and she wishes he would give her something, anything to let her know that he's okay, that _they're_ okay.

"Give me ten minutes," Finn finally says before shutting the door.

"Great, he's regressed back to his crazy ass antisocial ways," Santana says.

"He just got robbed Santana," Rachel says, her face still concerned. "At least he's coming, that's something."

* * *

><p>She grasps Finn's hand firmly in hers as they scale the steps of the Columbia Law Library, he holds hers back, a good sign, but he's clearly too rattled to say anything, she doesn't push it, electing instead to talk to Santana.<p>

"I didn't know you were a Law Student," Rachel says.

"I'm pre law, and you didn't ask," Santana explains. "I enrolled last year after what you'd call an extended lapse, lets just say I had a few setbacks along the way."

"What kind of setbacks, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Drug related ones for the most part," Santana says, without shame, as if it's simply a fact of life.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea," Rachel says.

"It's okay," Santana says, shrugging. "Things were just really hard for me, you know, with my family and coming out and everything, and I guess I just dealt with it in some really stupid ways. It wasn't until I moved to New York and fell in love with Brittany that I realized I deserved better, that I deserved to be happy, so I turned it around, I graduated from city college with top honors and got accepted to Columbia, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let them throw me out on the street just when I'm starting to get my shit together."

"Why didn't you choose to live in the dorms?" Rachel asks.

"Because I'm 26 years old, I didn't want to be the oldest person there, besides they never would have let Brit live there with me," Santana explains. "I mean I know it would probably be easier-

"No, I get it," Rachel says, looking at Finn and squeezing his hand tighter as they enter the library.

Finn and Rachel flip through books for hours, big dusty tomes abandoned in favor of the internet years ago. They search until their eyes get tired and all of the words start to blur together, still coming up with nothing, while Santana peruses the internet on her laptop with similar results, groaning audibly in frustration every so often. After finding nothing in the property law book in front of her Rachel gets up from the table in a huff and retreats back to the shelves, stopping short when she sees Finn there, scanning the titles in front of him.

"Hey you," Rachel says, coming up to him and placing a hand on his back. "Thank you for coming with us, I know you had a hard nigh-

He cuts her off, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her body into his, kissing her firmly and hotly, stealing her breath and taking her completely by surprise. Once she gets over the shock of it her mouth softens under his and her arms wrap around his shoulders as he backs her against the books.

"What was that for?" she says breathlessly, as he breaks the kiss.

"You're right, I had a really hard night, the worst" he says, the first words he's spoken in hours. "But I'm starting to think that doing that kind of makes everything better."

"Really?" she beams.

"Yeah," he says, giving her a small smile. "Look, don't worry about me okay, I'll be alright. I just need a little time to process everything I guess."

"Are you sure Finn?"

"Yeah," he exhales. "Its just, my whole life was in there you know?"

"I know babe," she says, placing a hand on his cheek, he looks so sad, and she wishes there was something she could do for him, she can't imagine how awful it must feel to lose everything you care about like that.

"Well at least all this researching is taking my mind off things," he says, grabbing another book from the shelf.

"Is that why you came with us?" Rachel says as she flips through another book. "You wanted to get your mind off of things?"

"No," he says, shaking his head. "I thought a lot about it, and I came because I know it's important to you, even if there's nothing we can do I know that you don't want me to give up, so I won't, not until the wrecking ball hits."

"I've thought about it too," she says. "And I realized that I'm not doing this for me anymore, I'm doing it for them, for Santana and Brittany, and your parents, because I've decided that my answer is yes. I'll live with you, even if they don't tear the tower down."

"Really?" he says, brightening.

"But only if you want me to."

"Of course I want you to," he says bending down to kiss her again. "To tell the truth I was kind of afraid you would agree to it because you didn't have any other choice."

"Don't be silly," she says, mussing his hair gently. "You're my _only _choice Finn, besides, now you won't have to get a new TV."

"I was just thinking that," he says and he kisses her again, long and deep against the shelf.

"Hey Frankenhobbit," Santana says, breaking them out of their amorous activity.

"Sorry Santana we were just-

"It doesn't matter," Santana says, her face excited. "I found something."

"Wait, what?" Rachel says, "Seriously?"

"Yes," Santana beams, grabbing them both by the wrists and leading them to her laptop.

"Listen," she says pointing to the text on the screen. "It says here that The owner of a dwelling must give written notice to current tenants before applying for a permit to demolish the dwelling. The owner also must give this notice to tenants who have signed rental agreements but who have not yet moved in, that's you Rachel."

"Oh my god," Finn says. "That means…"

"Since the building is owned by the bank the bank broke the damn Law," Santana says. "They'll have to give us more time now, we might even be able to stop the demolition altogether."

"Oh my god, this is incredible," Rachel says, jumping up and down and hugging Finn, who laughs heartily and hugs her back.

"I'm going to be the most badass lady lawyer that ever was," Santana says proudly. They can't help but think she may be right.

On Monday they'll meet with the housing authority with their discovery, if they won't listen to reason they're sure they can get a decent amount of media coverage if they chain themselves to the place, as Rachel ever the dramaticist suggests, but for now they'll just rest away the day. They say goodbye to Santana as she disappears into her apartment with Brittany and they both retreat into Rachel's place. Being in his home while it's so empty just isn't something he's prepared to fully deal with yet, and Rachel understands. She makes him banana bread. his favorite, and what she's decided will from now on be his official cheer up food. They watch _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ and she rests her head on his chest as he weaves his fingers through her hair, she's happy that he's okay, that they're okay, and that no matter what happens on Monday they'll always have a home with each other.

**The funny thing about this chapter is that I found out about that tenent's law after ten minutes of searching the internet, but what can I say, I'm just a sucker for those scenes in movies and TV where they grind away in the library trying to find a way to fix some grave injustice. Stay tuned folks!**


	15. The Princess

It isn't as easy as just going to the housing authority with the new information and demanding a stop to the demolition plans. Those responsible for the unlawful activities will be dealt with, but the most the housing authority can grant for now is an eighteen month delay on the demolition. Santana says it's a good thing, that eighteen months is plenty of time to get an initiative started. As for the others, Quinn tells Puck that he has a home with her and Beth should he need it, on two conditions, the first being that he gets a real job. Finn asks Blaine if he can get him one at Pete's. They don't question his motives, Beth was his daughter for six weeks, in a way he will always feel something for her, even if he doesn't choose to talk about it, and Puck is a great father if not always the greatest human being. Blaine gets him a job as a bartender and he moves in with Quinn a week later, but not before shaving his Mohawk, the second condition. Burt announces during the weekly dinner that a member of the housing authority board has retired and there is an open seat, one that he has his eye on. They all think it's a great idea, he was never much of a handyman but he'll make a great housing authority board member. Mike and Tina decide to stay the distance, they have money saved if the worst should happen, but they are glad to have some stability for the time being. Artie from the first floor follows suit, deciding to stay with the tower like most of its residents.

Rachel and Finn promise to help Santana with her initiative and Burt with his campaign, but they both decide that it's time to move on. Finn went back there because there was nowhere else for him to go, and he had spent so much time building this giant wall to block out the rest of the world that he didn't get a chance to realize how much he missed it, not until Rachel came along and tore his wall down. Kurt and Blaine's building in Williamsburg seems the perfect place for him to start a new life with her, one that he put off for so many years after Quinn's betrayal. It helps that Kurt put in a good word for him with the building manager to hire him on as their new superintendent in exchange for a paycheck and decreased rent.

Moving day reminds Finn of the first time he saw Rachel, getting out of that moving van with her potted fern and stars in her eyes, he didn't realize it at the time, but she was his salvation, his second chance.

"I got something for you," he says, taking a break from sealing boxes.

"Ooh, a gift," Rachel says brightly.

"Yeah, I was going to get you _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ but you already have it," He says, handing her the simply wrapped gift.

"Naturally, on DVD _and_ Blu Ray" she responds proudly, taking the gift and tearing into the paper. "_Coming to America?_" she says, reading the movie cover.

"It's about a prince who disguises himself as a common man to find love in New York City. When I saw it I thought about you because…

"Go on," she says teasingly.

"It was the movie that I was watching when I first saw you from my window," he says bashfully. "And when I saw you I wondered to myself if you were really a princess."

"Really?" she beams. "You thought that?"

"I mean I just didn't understand what someone so beautiful was doing moving into this hellhole. I thought maybe you renounced your riches and came here to find someone who would love you for you and not because you owned Israel or something."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you but I'm not a princess," Rachel says. "Or at least I don't think I'm one, I mean, who knows, maybe my dads didn't have me through a surrogate, maybe I'm actually adopted, maybe I had to flee the war torn country my family reigned over and ended up in America where I was adopted by a loving gay couple who had no knowledge of my noble blood. And one day in the not so distant future a mysterious woman claiming to be my grandmother and the current ruler of my home country will arrive at my door and plead with me to return to my now at peace kingdom and claim my rightful place on the throne."

"You've thought about this before haven't you?" Finn says, narrowing his eyes teasingly.

"From time to time, maybe," she says, shrugging. "In any case thank you so much for this," she says hugging the movie to her chest and standing on her tiptoes to kiss him sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you too princess Rachel," he says softly against her mouth as he kisses her again.

"Oh and I actually have a surprise for you too," Rachel says excitedly.

"Really? What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see," she says with a devious grin, and he wants to kiss her again, so he does, he kisses her deep and pulls her close, running his hands underneath her blouse and reaching for her bra as his lips travel downward, skimming over her neck and collar bone, making her sigh and giggle a little.

"Finn, we have to focus on the task at hand," Rachel says as if she's trying to convince herself more than him.

"The boxes will still be there when we're done," he says, getting her bra loose and placing a hand on her breast as his continues to kiss her.

"You have a valid point," she agrees, kissing him back and caressing his tongue with hers as she pulls off her blouse and bra, giving him full access to her breasts, he follows suit, removing his shirt and pressing his naked chest to hers as they kiss each other and touch each other's bodies. It's getting easier to make love to her in the light, to let her see his scars, to see all of him, because she makes it easier, with her tender, feather light touches and the way she looks at him with the purest love. They hurry out of the rest of their clothes and he removes his prosthesis and lays her down on her bed, kissing her with passion and urgency, with everything he feels for her so strongly. He removes his lips from hers and begins to plant light kisses down her chin and neck and the smooth curve of her breast until he lands on her nipple, taking it into his mouth and running his tongue over it, and his hands skim down her body, finding her heat and starting to pleasure her with his hand while he teases her with his mouth, making her groan and pull at his hair as she tries to keep her body under control.

"Rachel?" He breathes as he temporarily frees her from the torture and hovers over her for a moment.

"What is it Finn?" she says gently, panting heavily, her hands touching his face and her eyes staring into his.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Well, I don't really know how to say this," he starts, his voice a bit hesitant. "But I think you saved me."

She gives him that look again, that look of purest love and she kisses him again, and he kisses back, not` removing his mouth from hers even as he reaches for his pants on the floor and pulls a condom out of his pocket. He rolls it down onto himself and slides into her without a moment's hesitation, wanting to make her feel everything that he feels for her, wanting to fill her completely, be inside of her and never be apart from her again.

They reluctantly finish their activities and continue to pack until everything is boxed up and ready to go to the new apartment. It's smaller than his old one, but not by much, and there's a fire escape where he can work and a cute little kitchen with avocado appliances where Rachel can bake, Finn didn't even realize they still made refrigerators and stoves in avocado, but she likes them so much that she doesn't even complain too much about the lack of a clawfoot tub. He thinks maybe sometime down the line when he has some money saved up he'll install one for her, if he can clear it with the building manager that is. Overall they love their new home, the biggest reason being just because it's theirs.

They enter the new building, Rachel with her fern in hand, and she smiles pleasantly at the first new neighbor they spot inside, a plump black woman in a pair of scrubs with pink hearts all over it. She's about their age, and she has a pretty face and a sweet smile.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry," Rachel says, extending her hand to the stranger, Mercedes Jones, RN according to her nametag. "I'm assuming you live here, if you do I'm your new neighbor."

"Oh yeah, I heard there was a new couple moving in, I'm Mercedes Jones, " she says brightly, pointing to her nametag. "Me and my boyfriend Sam live on the fifth floor."

"Well this is my boyfriend Finn," Rachel says, taking his arm and introducing him with discretion, she knows he's still uneasy around new people, but he's getting better all the time. "We're on the fifth floor too."

"Nice to meet you Mercedes," he says carefully, offering his hand for her to shake, she takes it, flashing her sweet smile.

"Nice to meet you too Finn," Mercedes says as she shakes his hand. "I hate to run but I'm due at the hospital at five, but we should all get together sometime."

"That would be great," Rachel says. "Do you know Kurt?"

"Who doesn't?" Mercedes says. "That boy likes to make his presence known."

"Yeah, I know better than anyone," Finn agrees.

"Well, we'll definitely talk later," Mercedes says, graciously even though it's clear she's in a hurry.

"Looking forward to it," Rachel calls out as Mercedes exits the building.

They get their keys from the building manager and ride the escalator upstairs, their hands intertwined all the way up. They've seen the apartment before, but somehow the experience of turning the key and opening the door feels completely new.

"Wait," Rachel says, stopping him from turning the knob. "I want you to close your eyes, you don't have to worry about anything I'll be right here with you."

"Okay," he says, after a moment of hesitation, and he closes his eyes. He keeps them shut as Rachel guides him inside and walks him in the direction of their living room.

"Okay," Rachel squeals cutely. "Open your eyes." he does and his breath catches in his throat a little as he sees Rachel's gift, and dear God he didn't think it was possible to love her more, but he does, more than he ever has. It's beaten up, there are keys missing and the wood is warped and the paint is chipped and the finish has faded completely but it's still without a doubt the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

"Rachel it's… this is…" he starts not able to form words.

"They discontinued this brand in the sixties, I looked it up" she interrupts traipsing up to the damaged piano. "I found it at a yard sale in Westchester, after months of therapy this hoarder finally decided to part with it, he was practically giving it away, and not only was I happy to assist him in his healing I just knew that you would love it. The first thing I thought when I saw it was that you can make something so beautiful out of it. I know it hurt a lot to lose your intruments but I thought you could make a new collection, starting with this piano."

He pulls her in then, planting an appreciative kiss on her lips. "Thank you Rachel," he says sincerely. "Thank you so much for this."

"You're very welcome Finn."

"Now I feel kind of bad, all I got you was a movie," he says sheepishly.

"Which I know I'm going to love," she says. "Besides I was happy to do it, I can't wait to see it when it's all finished and pearly white again."

"Actually," he says, narrowing his eyes in contemplation. "I was thinking of maybe changing the color, how do you feel about Pink?"

**Stay tuned for the epilogue folks!**


	16. Epilogue

**Welcome to the end of Holly Golightly, thank you all for reading and making this my most popular story to date, you have no idea how much I've loved writing this for you and reading your kind reviews. You guys rock!**

_Hey kids, shake it loose togetherThe spotlight's hitting somethingThat's been known to change the weather We'll kill the fatted calf tonight So stick around You're gonna hear electric music Solid walls of sound_

_Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet But they're so spaced out, B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful Oh Bennie she's really keen She's got electric boots a mohair suit You know I read it in a magazine B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets_

"Hey, you're getting really good at that," Finn says, coming up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she works out the complicated tune.

"I told you, all I ever really needed was a pink piano," she says shrugging, continuing to play the song even as she's stopped singing.

"Mmm hmm," he says absentmindedly as he begins to pepper kisses along her neck and shoulder, making her lose her focus. At that she stops her playing and reaches around to the back of his head, curling her fingers through the soft hair at the back of his neck as he kisses her.

"Finn, are you trying to get me into bed so we don't have to go out tonight?"

"Why?" He says between kisses. "Is it working?"

"Nope," she says, grabbing his face in her hand, stopping his seduction in it's tracks.

"I just don't know if I'm ready," he says, sitting down next to her.

"I'll be right there with you," she says comfortingly. "And the second you start to feel overwhelmed you just tell me okay? And we'll leave."

"I just don't want to disappoint you again," he says, a little sadly.

"Finn, you could never disappoint me," she says, turning toward him and placing a hand on his cheek. "Besides, what about that town hall meeting last year? There were plenty of people there and you were just fine."

"Yeah but we were sitting in the back and nobody was moving around."

"Okay, if you want we can sit in the back," she says, shrugging.

He exhales slowly. "Okay," he agrees. "But you promise you won't get mad if I want to leave?"

"I promise," And she leans in to kiss him again, and he kisses back, leaning her against the piano, creating a discordant tune as they make out.

"Finn, it's not going to happen, " she says against his kiss as he begins to slide the strap of her dress down.

"Fine," he exhales, accepting defeat. "I'll go get dressed."

* * *

><p>The enter Pete's slowly, one step at a time, their hands tightly intertwined as they look for Kurt's table.<p>

"Okay there is a girl with a violin about to pass behind you," Rachel says carefully. "And a cocktail server just stumbled a little over to the left but she didn't drop her glasses. How are you doing, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he says, and she thinks he might be.

"Okay just keep looking forward, nothing can hurt you, I'm right here," she says soothingly.

"Hey Finn, Rachel, over here!" Finn tenses a bit at the sound of Sam crying out his name, but he lets it pass and they continue to make their way to the table where Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Brittany, Sam and Mercedes are currently sitting.

"Hey guys," Rachel says as her and Finn approach the table. "Do you all mind moving to the back table?"

"Sure," Kurt says shrugging as they get up from their spot.

"Hey Finn," Kurt says handing him a drink as they sit down again. "I ordered you a Jack and coke ahead of time."

"Thanks man," Finn says, taking the concoction and downing half of it in one go.

"Okay, slow down sailor," Santana says.

"Sorry, just a little nervous," Finn says.

"You're doing great babe," Rachel says bending in to kiss him, she knows that her kisses always seem to calm him down, and now is no exception.

"Jeez, get a room," Mercedes says jokingly as they kiss.

"Usually I'd agree but if that's the only thing that'll keep shell shock over here from having a panic attack I'll allow it," Santana says, shrugging.

"Thanks Santana, that's sweet," Kurt says sarcastically.

"Actually for her that _is_ sweet," Finn says.

"So since were all here I thought I'd share the good news," Kurt says. "My dad was officially elected a board member for the New York housing authority yesterday."

"Are you serious?" Rachel beams. "That's amazing!"

"That's awesome," Finn agrees. "So what does this mean, for the tower?"

"Well it could only be a good thing," Kurt says. "As a board member he does get voting rights in those kind of decisions, but unless this anti-crime initiative passes-"

"Which it will," Santana interrupts confidently.

"Then they'll probably still be pretty dedicated to tearing the place down once the eighteen months are up," Kurt finishes.

"Tearing down the tower isn't going to make crime in that area disappear." Blaine says. "They have to pass the initiative."

"I'm telling you it's going to happen, especially with Burt Hummel on the seat," Santana says.

"To Burt Hummel," Blaine says, raising his glass.

"To the tower," Finn adds, raising his in response.

"To the tower!" they all join in, even Sam and Mercedes.

"Alright Pete's!" They all turn their heads to the emcee who has just taken the stage. "Get ready for some awesome tunage tonight, first up, she's a regular and she's awesome, please welcome Ms. Rachel Berry!"

"Wait," Rachel says confusedly as the crowd applauds. "I wasn't going to go on tonight, I didn't even put my name in."

"I know," Finn says. "I put it in for you."

"But… are you sure you're going to be okay without me?" Rachel says.

"I'll be okay, I promise," Finn says. "Kurt's here, and the alcohol's already starting to do the trick. I want to hear you sing Rachel." She smiles at him, touched. "But please make it fast," he continues nervously, his eyes darting back and forth at the cocktail servers moving around.

"Okay, I'll be right back," she says excitedly, kissing him and getting up to take the stage.

"This song is for my boyfriend Finn," Rachel says into the mic as she takes her place at the piano. And as she begins to sing and play her heart out, locking eyes with him from the stage and noticing his smile as she sings, she knows that every note she sings for the rest of her life will be just for him.

**That's All Folks!**


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